Famous for its rich cultural heritage, Hanoi is also a shopping paradise for handicraft lovers, as evidenced by the recent Tourism Gift Festival.

Under the theme “Hanoi Noshes”, the event introduced unique products of traditional craft villages and local specialties, contributing to preserving and promoting the traditions and good cultural values ​​of the thousand-year-old capital.

The festival, which took place in late August, featured 60 handicrafts from renowned artisans and villages, such as conical hats from artisan Ta Thanh Huong, colorful to he (craft figurines for children) from artisan Dang Van Hau, lacquer work from Hoi Quyet workshop, bamboo dragonflies from Thach Xa village, rice paintings from Van Quan workshop, lacquer work from artisan Vu Le Dung.

Craft pieces include the simple to the elaborate and intricate, showcasing the meticulousness, creativity, and perseverance of the artisans in the design and creation of their products.

The conical hats made by artisan Ta Thu Huong caught the attention of onlookers with their vibrant designs, showing her attempts to modernize a classic item. Along with the other artisans, she covered the ordinary conical hats with soft silk and decorated them with wonderful motifs that symbolized the nation's attributes, such as white lotus with green leaves, a yellow star on a red flag background, the rich Northern countryside or the spectacular Ha Long Bay. 

The delicate motifs and patterns seem to take viewers into an ancient garden and help them remember old features, things that seem to be missing in modern times. Each conical hat contains its own aesthetic and artistic values, playing an important role in promoting Vietnamese culture and people. She hopes that her works will help foreigners understand more about the poetic, romantic, and majestic natural beauty of Vietnam.

To he at the festival evokes memories of a carefree, innocent, and mischievous childhood for Vietnamese people. To make a quality product, Dang Van Hau and other artisans from Xuan La Village, Phu Xuyen District, have to be careful when choosing sticky rice flour or combining several types of flour in the right proportions, and then kneading them thoroughly. They often incorporate natural materials such as leaves, fruit, and vegetables to make their work more vibrant and lifelike.

With endless creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance, artisans have created colorful toys in a variety of shapes that express Vietnamese national identity, such as the 12 zodiac animals, fruit bowls, peacocks, phoenixes, shoes, and four sacred animals. Each work contains a desire to preserve ancient cultural values that seem to be fading away over time.

Hau said that each figurine carries a story and a childhood memory. He wants to teach this craft to the younger generation to preserve a unique cultural feature of the nation.

At the event, tourists were also able to enjoy lacquerworks by traditional village craftsmen. The creation of lacquer masterpieces must go through complex production processes, from the selection of suitable materials, the shaping of the product, and painting, to the grinding and polishing of the product. The craftsmen paid attention to the smallest details, using their creativity and artistic sensitivity to make the work more vivid and charming. 

To promote culture, the works on display accurately capture the essence of Hanoi, including local landscape paintings, portraits of Hanoi girls wearing Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress), animals familiar to Vietnamese people, and traditional objects such as vases, baskets, wooden rings. Lacquer paintings are like a fairy tale told in colors. The painter's spirit and essence are displayed in every stroke and drop of color. Familiar animals or lotus flowers will become more vivid and colorful under their brushstrokes.

One of the unique handicrafts that impressed visitors at the festival was rice paintings. Rice grains of various sizes and colors are arranged to create images of people, animals,  and cultural phenomena. To make the work more vivid, the artist must choose high-quality rice grains. The works on display depicted the majestic beauty of Vietnam's mountains and rivers, the graceful elegance of women in Ao dai or the pure beauty of the lotus flower.

A diverse array of other one-of-a-kind creations from traditional craft villages throughout Hanoi were also on display at the festival, such as the exquisite ceramics of Bat Trang Village, and the bamboo dragonflies of Thach Xa Village.

Featuring a wide range of handicrafts, the event is not only an opportunity to honor the talent and dedication of folk artisans but also a great opportunity to promote the beauty of Vietnamese traditions.

Many of Hanoi's traditional dishes are represented, such as Banh Cuon Thanh Tri (steamed rice rolls), Pho, Banh mi, Duong Lam peanut candy, braised sweet dessert soup, Hanoi draft beer, spring rolls, lotus seed jam, among others.

The festival offers a lively mix of interactive activities. Highlights include street circus performances, culinary workshops, folk painting classes, and ethnic music performances, all of which add to the vibrant atmosphere.

The Hanoi Tourism Gift Festival, which attracted 20,000 domestic and foreign tourists, helps promote Hanoi tourism.

In addition to showcasing products, the festival also provides opportunities for international visitors to interact with artisans and participate directly in hands-on activities such as pottery making, hand embroidery, or painting. These experiences not only provide moments of relaxation but also help visitors gain a deeper understanding of Vietnamese culture.

The festival has highlighted the appeal of Hanoi's culture and contributed to making the capital an attractive tourist destination in the region and the world.

Dang Huong Giang, Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department, said: "The festival has successfully met all the requirements given by the local government. This is a testimony to the development of the capital's tourism industry, especially after Hanoi was honored by Tripadvisor as the world's best culinary destination in 2024."

Looking to the future, leaders of the Hanoi Department of Tourism expressed their determination to continue developing and expanding the scale of this festival in the coming years.