HÀ NỘI — The beauty of men and women who preserve traditional handicrafts is reflected in a photo exhibition launched yesterday in Hà Nội.

With the theme “The Quintessence of Hà Nội’s Craft Villages and Trade Streets”, the exhibition showcases 80 authentic and lively photos featuring artisans’ portraits, working life and daily activities.

The exhibition is divided into three main parts: Trade Streets, Traditional Handicraft and Cuisine Trade. 

It’s the 13th iteration of the "Hà Nội in Me" photo exhibition, launched annually by the Kinh Tế & Đô Thị (Economics & Urban) newspaper.

The streets, with their names including the word “Hàng” (meaning goods or commodity) in Hà Nội’s Old Quarter, today have become a special hallmark of the Hà Nội craft culture and an attractive destination for both domestic and international travellers exploring the capital.

After expanding its administrative boundaries, Hà Nội is home to the largest number of craft villages in the country, with some 1,350 craft villages.

Bronze casting at Ngũ Xã Village, by Tiến Bách.

Thanks to skillful hands, the artisans have created products with diversified models and different types, such as bamboo and rattan, ceramics, fine art furniture, lacquerware, culinary specialties and so on.

These products are not only consumed domestically but also exported to many other nations.

The artisans coming to the capital have brought traditional crafts from their homeland. They incessantly preserve and create products so that they become more and more unique, sophisticated and diverse, contributing to linking the city’s streets and the craft villages, said editor-in-chief of the Economics & Urban newspaper Nguyễn Minh Đức.

“After the previous 12 events, the ’Hà Nội in Me’ photo exhibition has become a meeting place for art and the city’s lovers every October.”

“The 13th exhibition will make an impression on the public with its sincere love for Hà Nội. As such, photographers, whether they are artists or reporters, have captured the most beautiful moments of Hà Nội,” said Đức.

Childhood at Chuông Village, which practices the trade of making conical hats, a photo by Tuyết Minh.

Đặng Đình An, chairman of the Hà Nội Photographic Artists, highly appreciated the quality and content of the entries.

“Through the photos, we can understand the passion for work of the artisans, their determination to preserve the traditional craft and culture, both adults and children are involved in the craft,” he said.

“The photos help preserve and promote cultural values of the one-thousand-year-old city,” said An.

The exhibition attracted the participation of numerous photographers including members of the Hà Nội Elderly Photographers Club, as well as reporters and collaborators of the Economic & Urban Newspaper.

The event is organised to celebrate the 64th anniversary of Hà Nội’s Liberation Day (October 10, 1954).

The exhibition will run until October 13 at Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám, then all of the photos will be displayed at the Hà Nội Museum, 4 Phạm Hùng Street, until the end of next year. — VNS