Hanoi's unique pottery museum sets up creative space

Located in the heart of the ancient pottery village of Bat Trang in Hanoi's Gia Lam District, the Bat Trang Pottery Museum is not only a place to preserve the cultural values of the village, but also a creative space for visitors from far and wide.

The museum is part of the "Quintessence of Vietnamese Handicraft Village" project of the Hanoi Handicraft and Craft Villages Association and Quang Vinh Ceramic Co., Ltd.

Launched in 2018, the museum was completed after five years of construction, with a surface area of 3,300 square meters and six storeys, realizing the original idea.

The museum is a tribute to the quintessence of the art of pottery and is the home of a unique collection of ceramic products. Complex curves impress visitors from the very first steps. It is also considered to be a traditional house that preserves all the cultural values of the ceramic village of Bat Trang and introduces them to visitors.

The Center for “Quintessence of the Vietnamese Craft Village” is built at Bat Trang Ancient Pottery Village. Photo: Lam Thanh/ The Hanoi Times

Recently, many creative activities have taken place in the vocational experience area, the artistic ceramic creation area of ceramic sculptors, and the nursery, which welcomes students from the ceramics and printmaking departments for free internships.

The center for "Quintessence of Vietnamese Handicraft Village" also has an exhibition area to introduce contemporary art and auction excellent works of art by famous craftsmen and artists, as well as a quintessential food area offering specialties of Bat Trang.

It also has a hall with a capacity of more than 300 guests that specializes in organizing functions, an outdoor area with a beautiful view, and ten three-star standard rooms to rent.

Most importantly, the center has a very special Bat Trang pottery museum to tell the 1,000-year history of Bat Trang craft village.

"The products on display here are all works of art by craftsmen from Bat Trang pottery village. We will take tourists to visit the nearly 1,000-year-old Bat Trang ancient pottery village, which has a small lane but is steeped in the culture of a famous craft village for many generations," said Ha Thi Vinh, Chairwoman of the Hanoi Handicraft and Craft Villages Association.

Bat Trang craft village was recognized as a tourist attraction by the Hanoi People's Committee in October 2019. It is also known as one of the first craft villages in Hanoi to apply digital technology to develop smart tourism. As a result, Bat Trang welcomes 3,000 to 5,000 visitors per day, especially on weekends.

According to Phung Thi Hoai Huong, Director of the Gia Lam District Culture and Information Office, the number of visitors to Bat Trang has doubled and sometimes tripled since it was recognized as a tourist attraction.

"We continue to invest in digital transformation solutions for tourism culture, including the creation of a digital database of classified historical and cultural sites, and the construction of a kiosk with compact electronic devices to provide information at tourist sites. We will also do research and construction of a 3D digital map of cultural heritage and tourism in Gia Lam District," Ha said.