The ongoing Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024 Fair at the Hanoi Museum provides a venue for businesses and producers from Hanoi's traditional handicraft villages to showcase their unique souvenir products.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen The Hiep said the Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024 aims to support industry associations, enterprises, production facilities, and artisans to display their handicraft souvenirs, which are imbued with the cultural identities of the capital's traditional craft villages.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen The Hiep (third from left) and delegates visit a booth at the Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024. Photo: VGP

"The fair is also an opportunity for businesses and rural industrial enterprises that produce handicraft souvenirs in the city to connect and trade; to promote cooperation in the production, processing, and consumption of quality goods, and to form a sustainable production and consumption chain of rural products," Hiep stressed. 

He added that Hanoi is currently home to over 1,350 craft villages, with nearly 176,000 households involved in a wide range of trades, accounting for 45% of the total number of craft villages in the country. These villages are involved in a wide range of handicraft activities, including woodworking, bamboo weaving, pottery, glass, textiles, fibers, embroidery, knitting, and small-scale engineering.

The Deputy Director stressed that the items produced by these craft villages are renowned for their exquisite design and superior quality. "Some of them have a competitive edge in both domestic and international markets. The handicraft sector plays a key role in Hanoi's economic development and export activities," Hiep said.

The event featured 100 booths from Hanoi's businesses and rural industrial enterprises, as well as a product display area to showcase and sell handicraft souvenirs. The fair showcases wood, pottery, bamboo and rattan articles, glassware, textiles, yarn and embroidery products, small mechanical products, and those under the One Commune, One Product (OCOP) program.

Trinh Thi Que Anh, a twenty-nine visitor from the outlying district of Dan Phuong, felt so excited with the Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024. "The fair offers many handicraft products at attractive prices. I have to say 'attractive' because the products I bought were cheap but of good quality. They have been approved by the relevant authorities, so I feel quite safe," Que Anh told The Hanoi Times.

Running until April 28, Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024 is expected to draw thousands of locals and foreign visitors on the holidays of Vietnam's Reunification Day [April 30] and Labor Day [May 1].

An overview of the Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024 fair. Photos: Anh Kiet/The Hanoi Times

A space to display handmade souvenirs and pottery at the fair.

Stand of the Hoang Huong rattan business.

Another place to display cultural souvenirs at the fair.

Handicrafts and handmade items are on sale at the capital's souvenir fair.

Van Phuc silk, the capital's most famous and popular product.

The fair exhibits textiles, yarn and embroidery products.

Eye-catching Brocade products.

The Hanoi Great Souvenirs 2024 is a big draw for visitors.