Location: Thai Tan Commune, Nam Sach District, Hai Duong Province, about 70km to the east of Ha Noi.
Characteristics: This is one of the cradles of Vietnamese pottery craft.
◊ History of Foundation and Development
Chu Dau Pottery Village was formed in the 14th century and reached prosperous development in the 15th and 16th centuries. Then, due to wars, Chu Dau pottery craft was lost. Since 2001, Chu Dau ancient pottery was researched and restored.
◊ Features of Chu Dau Pottery
Raw material for Chu Dau pottery is white clay taken from Truc Thon Area in Chi Linh Town, Hai Duong Province. The clay will be mixed with water and then filtered. The longer the clay is filtered, the more beautiful and bright the pottery’s color is. All steps in the producing process of Chu Dau pottery is implemented manually by experienced artisans. This creates Chu Dau pottery’s own characteristic.
One of the highlights of Chu Dau pottery is patterns reflecting the life, beliefs, philosophy and the soul of Vietnamese, mostly the images of lotus, chrysanthemum, Lac Viet bird (a kind of bird in Vietnamese legendary). Chu Dau pottery has mainly white, blue, and celadon glazes.
◊ Major Chu Dau Pottery Products
Currently, Chu Dau pottery includes three major product types, namely products restored according to ancient pottery models, household products and export products. The famous and popular Chu Dau ones consist of blue-glaze pot, ty ba pot, Ngu Hanh vase, Rong (Dragon) winepot, Ho Phu jar, etc. Products of Chu Dau Pottery Village are exported to more than 20 countries and territories, and displayed in 46 museums of 32 countries over the world.
◊ Activities for Visitors
In recent years, businesses and people in Chu Dau Pottery Village has focused on developing craft village tourism with many activities to serve visitors such as display of ancient pottery products, calligraphy pottery garden, the house to worship the founder of pottery craft, etc. Coming to Chu Dau Pottery Village, visitors can admire the peaceful countryside landscapes, learn about ancient pottery art as well as create pottery products by themselves.
