Van Phuc silk village (also known as Ha Dong silk village) is one of the most beautiful and famous silk weaving villages in Hanoi, Vietnam. With over a thousand years of existence, Van Phuc silk has captivated tourists both at home and abroad with its unique embroidery lines and patterns.
Van Phuc silk village (now Van Phuc Ward) is located in the heart of Ha Dong District and only about 10km from the center of Hanoi.
Although here, the urbanization process is happening very quickly, Van Phuc silk village still more or less retains the ancient beauty through the images of ancient banyan trees, water wells, communal courtyards, and all The afternoon people still often have markets here.
Van Phuc silk is very durable and beautiful, wearing it, we will feel its softness and lightness. That unique feature is thanks largely to the skillful hands of the artisans here.
Over many generations, Van Phuc silk still retains its traditional beauty and is still at the forefront of our country’s textile industry. Patterns on silk are very diverse, very meticulously attentive by artisans, always decorated symmetrically with each other, the lines are not cumbersome, complicated but always create a sense of airy, decisive.
That is why, for a long time, Van Phuc silk has been considered as a representative of Vietnam originating abroad, and was also chosen as a type to sew royal costumes, especially popular under the Nguyen Dynasty.
The raw materials for making Van Phuc silk are mainly from silk because of its softness and toughness. In order to create the perfect silk products, they have to go through many meticulous stages such as making silk, sizing, weaving, dyeing, drying …
It is necessary to choose yarn and hew it to ensure that the yarn is white, shiny, and not ruffled. Van Phuc silk has a variety of ghost patterns, about 70 types, silk, brocade, with different names such as ribbon, dragon phoenix, flying clouds, …
Among the traditional silk, the most famous is probably Van silk. This type of silk has embossed flowers, smooth shine on the silk surface, sunken flowers can only be seen in the light.
The special feature of Van silk in particular and Van Phuc silk, in general, is that the wearer will feel warmer in winter and cooler in summer. At present, Van Phuc village has nearly 800 households working in weaving, accounting for nearly 60% of the total number of households living here.
Each year, the village produces about 2.5 to 3 million square meters of fabric, accounting for 63% of the total turnover of the craft village. Although nowadays there are many kinds of silk imported from China, affecting the prestige and quality of Van Phuc silk, people here are still trying to take care step by step to create the best products and reaffirmed its position.
They are still continuing from the essence left by their ancestors, to gradually improve the product designs better and better for users.
Along with the preservation and development of the traditional silk weaving village, Van Phuc silk village is gradually innovating, becoming a tourist destination to keep pace with the market demand for products as well as the need to explore, have fun, learn about the visitors’ craft villages.
Coming to Van Phuc silk village at this time, visitors will witness the rapid change of the craft village with a more civilized and dynamic image. On weekends, Van Phuc silk village welcomes many tourists to visit and take pictures.
In recent times, the local government has invested in infrastructure, embellished streets, and embellished relics. In particular, three pedestrian streets including Silk Street, Food Street, and Biological – Antiques Street are opened for tourists to visit and shop.
As soon as you pass through the village gate, visitors will see the walking path decorated with colorful umbrellas. Along the two sides of the walkway are close by shops that display and sell products such as scarves, dresses, bags, clothes … with a variety of designs for visitors to choose from. If you want to wear ao dai for photos, there are also Ao Dai rental services here.
One of the most prestigious and famous selling addresses is the silk weaving workshop of artist Trieu Van Mao, the Van Xuan silk shop, or to the Van Phuc silk market, where you can freely choose choose the most satisfied products.
The attractions at Van Phuc silk village visitors can visit such as: Van Phuc Pagoda, the Temple of the Tradition, Van Phuc Temple, Van Phuc Silk Conservation Center, Ornamental Biology Center, Antique Street, The Store House concept of President Ho Chi Minh or colorful frescoed street in front of village communal house.
In addition, visitors can also visit the weaving and dyeing factories located behind the Van Phuc silk market to learn about the silk weaving process, directly contact the craftsmen or experiment with some stages of manufacture of products.
In particular, coming to the village, visitors also have the opportunity to experience making paintings from rags at VUN Art Cooperative – where there are disabled people working here.
