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D**g Xam silver craft village

D**g Xam village in Thai Binh province is one of 3 places well-known for the silver carving craft, together with Hang Bac Street and Dinh Cong village in Hanoi. Also known as Duong Tham, the 600-year old village is now located in Hong Thai commune, Kien Xuong district.

The silver carving craft in D**g Xam village has existed since the 15th century. Legend has it that in 1428, Nguyen Kim Lau, a man from Chau Bao Lac (modern day Cao Bang province), traveled downstream on the Tra Ly River to earn his living and then went on to transfer his silver carving skills to the local people in D**g Xam.
At first, villagers welded bronze items such as moulded buckets or basins, sharpened knives or scissors, and repaired locks. The locals then progressed into the art of silver and bronze carvings.

The village’s heyday was when D**g Xam artisans brought the craft to the nation as a whole. During the Nguyen dynasty in the 19th and early 20th century, they went to the ancient capital of Hue to carve the imperial palace and to craft jewelry for the royal court. The Đồng Xâm artisans, in conjunction with silversmiths in Chau Khe village in Hai Duong province, and Dinh Cong village in Hanoi were the founders of the famous Hang Bac Silver Street in Hanoi. There are approximately 150 silver carving workshops in D**g Xam village currently, employing 4,000 workers and generating around 4.3 million USD a year.

cre: vovworld.vn

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🎎 Longlink Water Puppet - Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen St., Cau Giay district, Hanoi
☎️ Hotline: 0981 20 29 21 - 0981 20 29 25
💻 Website: http://longlinkwaterpuppet.vn/

Duong Lam ancient village

Located in Sơn Tây Town, 40 km to the west of Hanoi, Đường Lâm village is a very popular tourist destination at the weekends. The village attracts visitors because of its ancient houses and the architectural features of a typical old Vietnamese village with banyan trees and a wharf on the river. Join us on a tour of Đường Lâm village with reporter Lan Anh.

It takes just over an hour to get to Đường Lâm village. On the road leading up to the village, tourists can feel the peaceful atmosphere. The rice fields these days are in their prime while lotus ponds will soon be in bloom signaling the coming of the summer. Passing through the village gate to Mông Phụ village, visitors should not miss taking photo of the gate, which is in the typical architectural style of an old Vietnamese village. Nguyễn Trọng An is Deputy Head of the village’s Management Board 'Of the 5 hamlets in Đường Lâm village, Mông Phụ is seen as the center, as it has many historical sites including communal houses, old houses, and the clan’s worshipping house. Of course, the 4 remaining hamlets also have important relics, a regular must-see for tourists'.

Cre: vovworld.vn
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🎎 Longlink Water Puppet - Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen St., Cau Giay district, Hanoi
☎️ Hotline: 0981 20 29 21 - 0981 20 29 25
💻 Website: http://longlinkwaterpuppet.vn/

Masks of Vietnamese Opera

It can be said that the mask is the element which makes the soul and the essence of Tuong - A unique art form that is both folk and scholarly. The white color is mainly used for the women (singer), the kind men (accompanist) or people live in the city. The red color represents the role of martial artists ( like Quan Cong, D**g Kim Lan, Ly Phung Dinh, etc). What makes Tuong more special than other types of national theatre play is rhetoric and mask. The colors used for the mask must be bold and the line must be clear to depict the figure's character and increase the expression of artists' face.

Vietnamese masks are highly symbolic. Face color represents the background and/or personality of the character. The white color is used mostly for women, scholars or urban dwellers. Red color is for loyal war heroes. Black faces usually belong to straightforward and hot-tempered martial men. Thick lines are also drawn around the character’s eyes. These are more or less slanting, depending on age, and the color is also related to the character’s background and personality.

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🎎 Longlink Water Puppet - Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen St., Cau Giay district, Hanoi
☎️ Hotline: 0981 20 29 21 - 0981 20 29 25
💻 Website: http://longlinkwaterpuppet.vn/