Keep the soul of the earth, open the way to the world
In February 2025, Bat Trang pottery village (Hanoi) was honored to be recognized by the World Handicrafts Council as a member of the World Creative Handicraft Cities Network. This is also one of the first two craft villages in Vietnam (along with Van Phuc silk village, Ha Dong ward) to receive this title.
Meritorious Artist To Thanh Son - one of the leading names of Bat Trang pottery village, recognizes Bat Trang's recognition as a member of the World Creative Handicraft Cities Network as a milestone of affirmation.
This recognition is first of all a source of pride, but more importantly, it is proof that the world has seen the inherent value of Bat Trang pottery: A craft village with a continuous history of nearly a thousand years, with its own aesthetic identity, with skills and export experience accumulated through many generations.
Foreigners know and come to Vietnam not because of the cheap price, but because of the cultural value, because of the delicate beauty and traditional depth that Bat Trang pottery carries within it," Mr. Son said.
According to Mr. Son, the international market is increasingly appreciating handicraft products, where each item is not only for use but also for feeling. Bat Trang pottery, with ivory white clay, ancient glaze systems such as cracked glaze, blue glaze, dong-shaped glaze, turquoise glaze,... created from the experience and emotions of craftsmen, has touched groups of customers who love culture, love pottery, love sustainability and uniqueness.
However, Meritorious Artist To Thanh Son also emphasized that, to go further, young artisans cannot just "keep the profession" but need to know how to harmoniously combine tradition and the modern breath.
“It is impossible to abandon tradition, but also impossible to cling to tradition and turn our backs on today's life. If Bat Trang pottery wants to go far, young artisans must inherit the patterns, glaze and spirit of their ancestors, and at the same time breathe a modern breath into it. Products must live in a modern space - from apartments, hotels to international restaurants - both carrying traditional influences and suitable for the aesthetics and layout of today's life,” Mr. Son shared.
Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia - an artisan in Bat Trang pottery village - said that from the smallest jobs in his family's workshop, he gradually mastered the entire production process, and then after 30 years of "eating soil, sleeping in the kiln", chose for himself a difficult path: Preserving the value of handicrafts in the context of pottery production becoming increasingly industrialized.
This is a road to preserve the handmade method of bending loach, plastering - carving - hand-painting, along with many traditional materials that have existed for generations in Bat Trang," artisan Nguyen Trong Nghia said.
According to artisan Nguyen Trong Nghia, Bat Trang pottery has a tradition of exporting from an early age, the items put on the outside market are mainly consumer products such as teacups, bowls, dishes, household appliances, and plant pots.
Products that want to enter the international market must simultaneously meet many criteria: load-bearing capacity, heat tolerance, microwave oven usability, negative temperature environment, consumer health safety (no lead, cadmium content), required uniformity from 97% or more and have complete technical inspection dossiers. Each shipment must be tested at specialized agencies before being accepted by partners," Mr. Nghia shared.
Artisan Nguyen Trong Nghia said that the journey to bring pottery to the world comes from clearly defining the essence of the craft: "If I only work to make money, I will choose another path. But if I want to go far and last, I must preserve the soil quality, glaze quality, and making methods of Bat Trang. Foreigners come to me because they love those things.
From that traditional foundation, artisan Nguyen Trong Nghia believes that innovation is mandatory: "Foreigners do not use teacups with small capacity like us, and are not familiar with dragon and phoenix patterns. If we do not change, we cannot enter their lives.
Heritage of special economic, cultural and foreign values of Vietnam
According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy (CEO of the Faculty of Finance - Banking, Nguyen Trai University), Bat Trang pottery needs to be seen not only as an export-producing industry, but as a heritage asset with special economic, cultural and foreign values of Vietnam. In the context of deep globalization, he believes that the core problem today is no longer how many products can be sold, but what value can be positioned and how to tell that story to the world.
According to experts, in the international market, most Vietnamese ceramics - including Bat Trang - are still mainly present in the intermediate layer of the value chain, in the form of processing, production according to orders or distributed export.
We have a heritage level, but we do not yet have a commensurate global positioning," Mr. Huy frankly shared.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy said that Bat Trang pottery is not suitable for a model of competition by scale or low price. The real strength lies in the high value segment, based on 3 major rising axes in global consumption: Handicraft - heritage, culture - experience and sustainable development.
The world is increasingly appreciating products that bear the imprint of people, history and local identity. With Bat Trang, each product can be completely seen as an "intellectual story". Pottery and ceramics at that time are not just utensils or decorations, but become a means of telling stories about Asian culture, lifestyle and philosophy, and are also suitable for green consumption trends thanks to natural materials, long lifespans and a spirit of moderation," Mr. Huy said.
Also according to Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, the biggest barrier preventing Bat Trang from reaching out is not in technique or skills, but in organizational thinking and development. Small-scale production models help preserve the "soul" of handicrafts, but make it difficult to standardize quality on an international scale, long-term investment in design, brand and market, as well as building a common story of national stature.
If there is no ecosystem strong enough to tell the story of heritage together, then that value is very difficult to reach the global public," Mr. Huy said.
Mr. Huy believes that the most sustainable way to elevate Bat Trang pottery is for the craft village to transform into a center of heritage and high-class handicrafts.
Here, each product not only meets consumer or export needs, but is also an "ambassador" conveying the cultural layers and historical flow of Vietnam. Linking tourism with the cultural industry, creating a space for experience and towards world heritage standards is not just about seeking titles," Mr. Huy shared.
Also according to Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, when placing Bat Trang in the journey of connecting Heritage - Experience - Global, export activities are no longer simply selling a product, but become a process of spreading long-standing cultural values imbued with Vietnamese national identity.
