The thousand-year-old handicraft in Tay Duong Ky Don village, Tuan district, Hac Bich city, Ha Nam province (China) has now transformed into a key economic sector, creating sustainable livelihoods for local people and is an attractive cultural tourism destination.
To welcome the flow of visitors, the government and local people have built 36 cultural spaces combined with experiential tourism, including museums, display houses, vocational training centers and a system of artisan workshops open for visitors to directly try their hand at making clay pottery.
The clay products of the craft village are very diverse and bear the imprint of national-level intangible cultural heritage. The typical highlight is the types of earthen whistles in the shape of birds and animals, folk breeds, along with a system of mascot statues, historical figures, and traditional toys that are elaborately crafted and painted with eye-catching colors.
With more than 1,000 skilled artisans and craftsmen, each year the village produces and sells to tourists and consumption markets more than 20 million clay works of all kinds. Annual revenue reaches more than 48 million yuan (about 6.7 million USD), making this place a typical model for developing craft village tourism associated with sustainable rural economic development.
