Chang Son: Cultural Heritage of Vietnam Transforming and Integrating

When mentioning Hanoi's craft villages, it is impossible not to mention Thach That district. This is considered to be the place with the most craft villages in Hanoi today with a rich diversity of craft villages such as: Thach Xa bamboo dragonfly village, Thach Xa tea village, Chang Son fan village,... In which, Chang Son fan has become famous with domestic and foreign tourists, and is even exported to many countries around the world.

Preserving and developing the traditional quintessence of craft villages

Chang Son fan village is located about 30km from the city center, in the old Ha Tay province, now in Chang Son commune, Thach That district, Hanoi. Chang Son fan making has existed for hundreds of years and has gone through many ups and downs.

Chang Son fans are diverse and rich in size, design, and type: from popular fans such as silk fans, decorative painting fans, fans used for wedding invitations, silk fans, to high-end fans as souvenirs. But no matter what type, it exudes a soft, seductive beauty from the eye-catching decorative motifs and images. Each fan not only carries artistic value but also historical and cultural significance with images depicting famous landscapes, fairy tales, poems, etc.

The fan production process is also very elaborate, having to go through many meticulous stages. First, Chang Son artisans have to spend time selecting each standard bamboo tube, then chopping it and soaking it in water for 4-5 months. Next, the bamboo pieces are split into small pieces, whittled into smooth strips or elaborately carved. The artisans will thread the bamboo sticks into an arc shape, wrap the bamboo strips with Do paper or fabric, and glue them firmly with glue. Finally, the fan is dried thoroughly, waiting for the finished product. To have a satisfactory fan, the artisan has to spend a lot of effort choosing each bamboo tube to make strips, each rattan fiber to make the border and each piece of paper to make the wings.

The basic materials of a paper fan or a fan include bamboo, paper, cloth and glutinous rice glue. The bamboo must be flexible, old, at least 3 years old, and free of termites, then the fan ribs will be durable and beautiful. The bamboo is cut into tubes, the green sap is scraped off, the ribs are separated with a knife, and lacquer is applied between the two bamboo strips.

Then, the bamboo strips are tied tightly for several months, until the paint dries, then they are whittled into fan ribs. The rattan fibers must be shiny, smooth, and long so that when weaving, they do not have to be joined together in many pieces. In the past, Chang Son mainly used Bac Ninh's do paper and the resin of the reed fruit to make fans.

Today, both of these materials are rare, especially the resin of the reed fruit. In addition, the demand for do paper fans is not high because of the high cost, so this type of fan has gradually disappeared. Only when customers order specifically, do some famous artisans in the village make them, and according to them, the current do paper is only recycled, not retaining the smoothness of pure do paper as before.

Instead, Chang Son's products are now made from raw or dyed Bai Bang paper, creating a colorful, cheerful look for the festival's fans. When making paper for the fan ribs, the artist must be skillful and meticulous so that the paper is not wrinkled, the folds are flat and even, convenient for painting. When painting, the artist must align the folds between the fan ribs and carefully calculate so that when finished, folding the fan does not affect the painting, the folds are in the right space, and no people or objects are cut.

The skilled artist here revealed that if cutting is required, the artist's talent is to create a connection so that the viewer does not know that the object has been cut if they do not touch the fan with their own hands. When the fan making process is completed, the artist will cover it with a layer of glossy paint to keep the fan bright and durable.

Therefore, the fans look simply but contain many profound meanings and the efforts and talents of the artisans who love their profession. Whether it is a paper fan, a picture fan or a silk fan, under the hands of the artisans of Chang Son fan village, they are all transformed into works of art containing profound messages about Vietnamese culture, history and people.

Transforming integration and linking with community tourism

To preserve and promote the role of craft villages, Thach That District has implemented a number of models of traditional craft villages associated with the development of OCOP products, community tourism services, eco-tourism and tourist attractions, increasing product value for key local products associated with the City OCOP Program.Chang Son fans used to face many difficulties, the craft village was at risk of fading away, but now, many domestic and international tourists come to Chang Son to participate in experiential activities and shopping.

For a long time, the family of artisan Duong Van Doan has been the destination of many travel companies, units with the need to order gifts for international guests. Many international customers also directly order fans from his family. Thanks to that, the beauty of Vietnamese culture has flown far with Chang Son fans. There are fans that customers order specifically, as display items, worth up to tens of millions of VND. The most demanding are Japanese guests, in addition to aesthetic requirements, the Japanese also closely supervise each stage of production. However, in return, they often order in relatively large quantities. One year, artisan Duong Van Doan's family exported several thousand fans to the Japanese market.

If in the past, a day of artisan Nguyen Thi Tuan often began with arranging materials and arranging work for production, now her job is to clean the house and prepare tools for tourists to experience making paper fans. Her house has become a destination for many domestic and foreign tourists.

Many schools also choose Ms. Tuan's workshop as a place for students to learn about culture and traditional crafts. Many days, Ms. Tuan also participates as a guest in festivals, seminars, workshops... about crafts. Her activities not only benefit the workshop, but also make the Chang Son fan making profession famous, helping the traditional craft to revive and develop.

She and other artisans researched and coordinated with other parties to create hundreds of different fan models, from fans decorated with images of Vietnamese villages, famous Vietnamese heritages to fans with Vietnamese calligraphy, Han - Nom characters, folk paintings, etc. Chang Son fan products are compact and beautiful, so tourists are very excited to see and directly experience the fan making process, then take the product home.

The paper fan making profession sometimes lost its position due to social needs, but the efforts of artisans in Chang Son village have helped Chang Son fan village revive. Chang Son fan village has now been exploited for tourism by many travel companies. Thanks to the flexibility in changing production methods, creating many highly artistic products, in addition, with the increasingly developing trend of craft village tourism, Chang Son has found a place in the market and maintained its long-standing reputation.

The development of tourism associated with the construction of new rural areas, on the basis of traditional craft villages and OCOP products in Thach That district, contributes to creating jobs, transforming the industry structure, improving the lives of local people, while promoting the value of heritage, historical culture, craft village products, and local agricultural products.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum

The page is coordinated by the Hanoi Office of the Coordination of the New Rural Development Program