Preserving values of a traditional craft village

As a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Tuong Binh Hiep Lacquerware Craft Village (located in Thu Dau Mot city’s Tuong Binh Hiep ward) has been formed and developed over hundreds of years. The traditional beauty of Tuong Binh Hiep lacquerware village reflects themes on nature, folklore and history, is all deeply imbued with the nation's cultural identity. This artistic cultural heritage seamlessly blends into the broader cultural flow of the country, carrying both cultural values and historical significance, thereby contributing to the preservation and promotion of Vietnam's traditional culture​​​.

However, traditional lacquerware products are currently facing numerous difficulties and challenges in today's development context. This is due to the increasing variety of competing products in the market and the gradual shift in consumer preferences​​​.

To preserve and promote the traditional values of Tuong Binh Hiep Lacquerware Craft Village, Binh Duong province has actively provided support by establishing a collective trademark, offering capital assistance to lacquerware production facilities to ensure environmental standards and combining tourism with craft village visits. In 2020, provincial People's Committee approved a project on "Preserving and Developing Tuong Binh Hiep Lacquerware Craft Village in Combination with Tourism in Thu Dau Mot City" and assigned Thu Dau Mot City’s People's Committee to implement it. Accordingly, the project is carried out on an area of approximately 5.4 hectares in Tuong Binh Hiep ward, including the construction of a centralized lacquerware craft village with full infrastructure and a wastewater treatment system, a centralized production area, a product display area, an ancestral worship house, a craft village gateway, vocational training, tourism services...

The goal of the project is to comprehensively develop the craft village, plan and establish a centralized production area for lacquerware facilities to ensure environmental standards and create a common product exhibition space for the village. Additionally, the project aims at developing tourism tours to showcase and promote the village's products to domestic and international visitors. It also seeks to provide opportunities for artisans and skilled workers to pass on and teach their craft to younger generations. To date, the 1/500 planning has been approved and subsequent steps are currently being implemented​​​.

With the support of all-level authorities and sectors, along with the artisans' perseverance, creativity in developing new products and exploring new markets, it is hoped that the lacquerware craft in Binh Duong in general and Tuong Binh Hiep Lacquerware Craft Village in particular, will continue making impressions in the overall development journey of the province​.

Reported by H.Anh-Translated by K.T