|
Bat Trang Village, a craft village 15 km north of Hanoi, is famous in Vietnam and indeed throughout the
world for its pottery and crafts.
According to legend, Bat Trang village dates back more than a thousand years, founded in the 11th Century by a group of Ly Thai To dynasty artisans who moved from Ninh Binh to the new capital Thang Long (Hanoi) setting up shops to produce bricks and ceramics for the king's palaces. Later they moved to the other side of the Red River and settled in the village we know today as Bat Trang. For centuries Bat Trang has been famous for its blue and white pottery. Even today, walking around in the village, there remains an atmosphere of the time past. In the old quarter, in the narrow alleys, you can still see coal pats drying on the old brick walls and smell the smoke from the house kilns. But Bat Trang has also moved on. Today the traditional families of Bat Trang enjoy ever increasing business opportunities for their pottery on an expanding export market. When they are not busy with their craft, creative and hardworking people need to relax, and the villagers of Bat Trang know just what to do as they are also famous for their cooking. 
|