Without the wild beauty, majestic mountains or romantic rivers and lakes, Nhan Hien village (Hien Giang commune, Thuong Tin district, Hanoi) is an ideal destination for those who love to explore the art of wood and stone carvings. As soon as arriving at the village of Nhan Hien, the sound of crashing, knocking, and sawing of timber and the stone carving make visitors feel like being in the world of music. And there, the “musicians” are the artisans who are working on their artifacts.
It is wonderful, through the witchy hands of the Nhan Hien villagers, pieces of wood, and rough stone, become the art work of unique value. Along the way from the beginning to the end of the village, there are people from many generations immersed in making wood and stone sculptures.
Nhan Hien's wooden sculptures are used for displaying and decorating the interior, including statues of different sizes and designs. Initially, Nhan Hien handicraft village mainly made wood sculpture, but later they extended their business to stone carving. From green stone, white stone, craftsmen made stone statues, stone churches, stone paintings, stone sculptures, stone statues which are extremely sophisticated. According to elderly people, Nhan Hien is a land of many talented carpenters in house, palace and temple construction. Nhan Hien Pagoda is named the after the famous Queen Linh Nhan Tu. In the pagoda there was a bell up to one meter in diameter, each time the bell rang, the sound could be heard from very afar. However, in 1949, the temple was destroyed by the French colonialists, the temple was on fire for nearly a week. In 2000, the pagoda was rebuilt by the people on the old pagoda’s foundation.
The talents of carpentry have made the reputation of this village spread throughout the city and nationwide. They had been invited by the feudal court of the Ly dynasty to work together to build the Thang Long citadel. Experiencing the ups and downs of history, generations of artisans, skilled workers with creativity have made the sculpture craft more sophisticated. Close to Tet holiday, it is the peak season of woodworks. Therefore, visitors can easily choose nice items for their home or gifts for their beloved ones.