Located by the Thu Bon River, Thanh Ha pottery village, Hoi An Tay ward, Da Nang city with a history of more than 500 years is entering the busiest time of the year.
Not only is it a destination attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit and experience, these days, the pottery village is also bright red with the fire color of the kiln to create unique horse mascot models.
There are only more than 2 weeks left until the Lunar New Year, the working atmosphere at pottery workshops becomes urgent. Artisans are diligently creating unique horse mascot models, serving the 2026 Tet market.
At Son Thuy pottery production facility, Mr. Nguyen Viet Lam started receiving orders for horse mascots from November of the lunar calendar. Approaching Tet is also the busiest time of year for orders at Mr. Lam's pottery production workshop.
This Tet crop in 2026, Mr. Lam's facility received orders for nearly 200 horse mascot products, so these days, the atmosphere at the pottery workshop is very bustling.
This year's horse models are quite diverse in size and design: from small, pretty horses as souvenirs for tourists, to "success-seeking" mascot models.
Regarding this year's horse mascot design, Mr. Lam said that his production workshop is currently receiving large orders for "lucky horse" designs (i.e., horses returning to their hometowns to worship their ancestors).
Different from the stereotype of horses, the "lucky horse" possesses a chubby, full appearance. This image not only creates a difference in pottery design but is also a symbol of wealth, prosperity and success.
To complete a lucky horse, artisans must spend from 50 to 60 hours working continuously, from creating embryos, preliminary heating to glazing and large-scale heating.
The product must be baked at a temperature from 1250°C to 1500°C. At this temperature, the glaze layer without impurities becomes the most durable and beautiful. Each mascot product shipped costs about 500,000 VND," Mr. Lam said.
Many tourists when visiting Thanh Ha pottery village were very excited to witness firsthand the process of inanimate clay blocks becoming living mascots under the hands of artisans.
Currently, in addition to supplying to Da Nang and Hoi An markets, the horse mascot products of the craft village are also ordered for Tet by many units from other provinces and cities.
