An exhibition of new and creative handicraft products and designs opens in Thuong Tin District on Nov 3-5 to promote the value of handicrafts in tourism development.

Hosted by the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, the event is part of a series of activities of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival and the Festival for Preserving and Developing Vietnamese Craft Villages in 2023.

Covering an area of 3,000 square meters, the expo has 100 exhibition booths to showcase about 500-600 new and creative handicrafts and designs by craftsmen in the city, including bamboo and rattan, gold, silver, copper, metal, fine art wooden furniture, flower art, lacquer, ceramics, silk weaving, embroidery, and others.

Delegates cut the ribbon to open the expo. Photos: VGP

According to Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, the exhibition is an opportunity for those interested in handicrafts to appreciate creative works with aesthetic value and great applicability in many different areas of life. "Above all, they are environmentally friendly," Lan stressed.

She added that the expo is a stepping stone for building a trading platform for new and creative handicraft designs and samples in the city, supporting the development of the handicraft industry and the One Commune One Product Program in Hanoi.

"The expo also creates an environment for effective information exchange and consultation on handicraft product design between designers and enterprises in the handicraft industry," Lan said.

Bui Cong Than, Deputy Chairman of the Thuong Tin District People's Committee, said the district has more than 16,000 workshops and hundreds of private businesses involved in traditional crafts, employing more than 40,000 workers. "There are 35 artisans in the district who have been distinguished by the Vietnamese government and organizations, including three People's Artisans, five Elite Artisans, and 27 Hanoi Artisans," Than said.

People visit and shop at the expo.

He added that many famous craft villages are hundreds of years old. Thuong Tin's handicraft villages are highly valued for their diverse and unique product designs and rich cultural identity, such as Thang Loi and Quat Dong embroidery, Nhan Hien sculpture, Thuy Ung horn comb and Tien Phong bedding, among others.

"Our embroiderers in Dong Cuu village have successfully restored royal costumes, while Dung Tien commune has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, and Ha Thai lacquer village has been honored as a typical craft village and recognized by the Hanoi People's Committee as a  craft village tourist destination. So far, Thuong Tin District has four tourist destinations, all of which are traditional craft villages," the vice chairman said.

He stressed that the 2023 Exhibition of New and Creative Handicraft Designs reaffirms the vitality, creative resources, and traditional handicraft identity of Hanoi's craft villages, and encourages the formation of creative communities, and creative platforms to promote cultural resources.

"The expo provides an opportunity for rural handicraft enterprises and industrial production workshops to learn about new creative designs and put them into production, as well as develop new products from these designs to meet market demands," Than said.