Hue Handicraft Festival 2007
Saigon Times Daily, Vietnam
The Hue Handicraft Festival, with the theme ‘320 years of Phu Xuan Hue – the handicraft, cultural identity’ will be held for three days from June 8 to 10 in Hue City to introduce three main Vietnamese handicrafts: wood carving, bronze casting and jewelry.
More than 200 craftsmen from 13 popular handicraft villages in nine provinces and cities all over the country will participate in the festival, which is located along the southern side of Huong (Perfume) river, extending from Quoc Hoc Park, Nguyen Dinh Chieu walking town to 3/2 Park.
The campus of Hai Ba Trung School has been chosen to introduce and display the instruments, the materials and the manufacturing process of the three handicrafts at the festival. This is a chance for visitors to see private collections of bronze and silver items, as well as precious antiques from the former royalty in Hue City and those salvaged from Huong river.
According to the organizers one of the other main activities of the festival is the tour ‘Hue – green summer and the handicraft villages.’ Tourists will visit the handicraft villages of Hue where hats and embroidered paintings are made. Tourists will travel by boat on the rivers and lakes in Hue such as Huong, Dong Ba, and Ngu Ha rivers and the lakes within the city.
In Hue tourists can explore the corners of the ancient city by cyclo, a form of transportation highly recommended by the locals. Cyclo riding is a tradition of Hue in particular and of Vietnam in general.
This year, the Cyclo Festival will open the Hue Handicraft Festival 2007. The cyclo parade rehearsal last Sunday, from Quoc Hoc Stele, Le Loi Street, Truong Tien Bridge, Tran Hung Dao Street to Phu Xuan Bridge, with more than 300 cyclos from three regions of Hanoi, Hue and HCMC, attracted the attention of local and international tourists.
During the festival there will be a contest titled ‘Cyclo with the city of culture and tourism’ in the Cultural House of Hue City with the participation of four of Hue’s cyclo unions, including Hue Station, Dong Ba, Hue Tourism, the southern station and San Souci Cyclo Co., Ltd. of Hanoi. This gives members an opportunity share their experiences and increases the unions’ awareness of their role in training the members to make a good impression on the tourists when they come to the ancient and romantic city of Hue.
Thanh Hai