Visit Ninh Binh to visit the 900-year-old red-hot bronze casting village

Van Diem copper casting village (Y Yen commune, Ninh Binh province) has a history of development of nearly 900 years.

Cac san pham duc dong cua lang rat da dang, phong phu. Tuy vao hinh dang, kich thuoc, chat lieu va muc do tinh xao, gia cua moi san pham co the dao dong tu vai trieu den hang tram trieu dong.

The village's bronze casting products are very diverse and abundant. Depending on the shape, size, material and sophistication, the price of each product can range from several million to hundreds of millions of VND.

Co gan 40 nam kinh nghiem trong nghe duc dong, Nghe nhan Duong Xuan Tuyen (tru tai lang Van Diem) cho biet, de tao ra mot san pham dong, nguoi tho phai trai qua nhieu cong doan nhu tao mau, tao khuon, nau chay nguyen lieu, rot khuon, ro khuon lam nguoi va cuoi cung la hoan thien san pham.

According to bronze cutters, to create a bronze product, the bronze cutter must go through many stages such as making samples, forming molds, cooking materials, pouring molds, removing molds, cooling (also known as the product completion stage).

Cong doan nau chay nguyen lieu, nguoi tho phai tap trung cao do boi nhiet do trong lo nau len den hon 1.000 do C. Thong thuong, nau o nhiet do cao khoang 20 phut, dong se nong chay hoan toan. Luc nay, can tien hanh rot dong vao khuon ngay lap tuc, boi neu de lau, dong se bi khe.

The process of cooking ingredients requires a high concentration because the temperature in the cooker is up to more than 1,000 degrees Celsius. Normally, cooking at high temperatures for about 20 minutes, the copper will melt completely. Immediately after that, the bronze was poured into the mold, because if left for a long time, the bronze would be stagnant.

Sau khoang mot ngay, khuon duoc ro de dua san pham di lam nguoi (hoan thien cac chi tiet) va cuoi cung la cong doan hoan thien, danh bong san pham.

After about a day, the mold is removed to put the product to cool and finally the finished step is to polish the product.

Co gan 40 nam kinh nghiem trong nghe duc dong, Nghe nhan Duong Xuan Tuyen (tru tai lang Van Diem) cho biet, cong doan lam nguoi la yeu to quyet dinh phan “hon” cua san pham va phu thuoc hoan toan vao ban tay cua nguoi tho. De lam ra mot san pham bang dong mat kha nhieu thoi gian nen voi san pham lam theo mau se duoc dat hang tu truoc de dam bao co san pham dung hen cho khach.

With nearly 40 years of experience in bronze casting, Artisan Duong Xuan Tuyen (residing in Van Diem village) said that the cooling stage is the decisive factor in the "soul" of the product and depends entirely on the hands of the craftsman. To make a copper product takes a lot of time, so the products made according to the sample will be ordered in advance to ensure the product is on time for customers.