Ninh Binh province’s craft villages in new development space

Quintessential convergence of craft villages

The mergence of Ninh Binh, Ha Nam and Nam Dinh provinces into one has marked a turning point for the development of the dynamic sub-region in the Southern part of the Red River Delta. In particular, with a huge number of renowned craft villages of unique values, Ninh Binh has more potential to boost social-economic growth.

According to preliminary statistics, Ninh Binh is now homes to over 250 craft villages, focusing on a wide range of industries such as agro-fishery-forestry processing, handicraft, woodworking, bamboo and rattan, pottery, textiles and garment, mechanics and ornamental horticulture.

Prominent among them are An Hoa embroidery village; Nha Xa silk weaving village; Ngoc Dong bamboo and rattan village, and Doi Tam drum making village in formerly Ha Nam province; Tong Xa bonze casting village, La Xuyen wooden carving village, Cat Dang lacquer village; Vinh Hao bamboo and rattan village and Ban Thach water puppet village in formerly Nam Dinh province; Ninh Van stone carving village, Ninh Hai embroidery village, Bo Bat ceramics making village, and Kim Son sedge making village in formerly Ninh Binh province.

Many craft villages have been recognised as national intangible cultural heritages such as Ninh Hai embroidery, Ninh Van stone, Cat Dang lacquer, Doi Tam drums, and Nha Xa silk weaving.

Pham Tri Trong, Chairman of the Doi Tam Drum Production and Trading Association, said “The mergence of the provinces opens up new opportunities for craft villages to develop on a larger scale and the domestic consumption market will expand. On the other hand, when trade connections between regions in the province are improved, Doi Tam drum village products will easily access major tourist centres such as Trang An, Tam Chuc and Phat Diem, thereby enhancing the ability to consume products through tourism and culture”.

Creative space of cultural industry

Each craft village in Ninh Binh has its own identity, creating unique and sophisticated products. This is also a valuable humanistic tourism resource, which is important in developing the local cultural industry, promoting the development of many industries and fields such as fine arts, exhibitions, handicrafts, architecture, especially cultural tourism.

Duong Thi Thanh, Chairwoman of the Ninh Binh Tourism Association, said that tourism and craft villages are two fields with a close and dialectical relationship. Craft villages provide tourism with unique cultural values, gift products with strong identities, while tourism opens the way to bring craft villages closer to domestic and foreign tourists, contributing to product consumption, creating more livelihoods for local people.

According to Thanh, in recent times, many tours associated with visiting and experiencing craft villages have been built and initially shown effectiveness in the province. For example, tours to explore Ninh Van stone carving village, Bo Bat pottery village, Van Lam embroidery village, or tours to Doi Tam drum village in Tam Chuc tourist area, and Nha Xa silk weaving in Lanh Giang temple. These models have shown the great potential of connecting tourism and craft villages.

“After the mergence of the provinces, with the expansion of space and cultural diversity, traditional crafts among the three old provinces, I believe that this is a golden time to promote the development of tourism products associated with craft villages. The Association will actively coordinate with travel agencies, localities and artisans to design more attractive experience tours, improve service quality, train tour guides who understand craft village culture and connect with the market”, Thanh said.

Trinh Quoc Dat, Chairman of the Vietnam Craft Village Association, emphasised the mergence opens up great opportunities to contribute to the preservation and development of traditional craft villages. However, Ninh Binh craft villages are currently, like other craft villages across the country, facing many challenges such as requiring innovative and creative management thinking; unsynchronised infrastructure; difficult transport, and lack of connectivity in warehouses and logistics.

Therefore, in order for craft villages to promote their potential and strengths and promote the development of cultural industries, Ninh Binh needs to build a cultural value chain for craft village products. Each product not only needs to be of good quality, but also needs to tell a story about history, people, and culture.

In addition, it is necessary to promote digital transformation and design innovation. Strengthen the connection between artisans and young designers and creative start-ups to improve designs and diversify products without losing the traditional spirit. It is necessary to create craft village models, cultural destinations, build craft demonstration spaces, experience areas, craft village night markets, craft learning tours, and workshops for international tourists.

In the development flow of cultural industries, traditional craft villages are valuable resources to promote local economic development. Effectively exploiting new development spaces, promoting regional connectivity, and investing in depth in creativity and promoting craft village products will help craft villages not only "revive" but also have more room to develop, becoming important creative spaces for the cultural industry.