Randonnee Vietnam

Trip Spirit: The village of Bat Trang is located some 12km from Hanoi with the access road winding along the top of dykes which are built to counter the overflow of Red River during the moonsoon season. Bat Trang is famous for its ceramic pottery which is sold throughout Viet Nam and increasingly to overseas markets. Ceramics have been made here for almost 500 years and knowledge has been passed down through the generation. Today the abundance of rich clay and increasing demand has turned the traditional skills into a thriving cottage industry. In addition to the traditional designs for urns, pots and tableware, some innovative craftsmen are now introducing the more avant-garde designs of Hanoi painters and artists. Almost all of the residents of this village area engaged in the making of ceramics and it is possible to wander in and out of houses and view first hand the process from drying clay, which is slapped onto the sides of houses, to the pottery wheel and then to painting and glazing. Through an interpreter it may be possible to try your hand at making a vase of perhaps painting a new pattern.

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