Hanoi Craft Villages: Bat Trang Pottery And Van Phuc Silk

Every part can be changed to suit your group.

1. Morning Bat Trang Pottery Village

   We leave your hotel at around 8:30 AM and cross the Red River to Bat Trang, about 45 minutes from the Old Quarter. Families here have made ceramics for more than five centuries, using local clay to produce bowls, vases and roof tiles for the royal city. We walk through the lanes of the old village, past walls made of recycled kiln bricks and courtyards stacked with pottery, and visit a workshop to see each stage, from shaping and glazing to firing. Then it is your turn: an artisan shows you how to throw a bowl on the potter’s wheel or paint a piece to take home.

   
2. Midday Lunch and the Ceramics Market

   We have lunch at a local restaurant in the village, then browse the Bat Trang ceramics market, with hundreds of stalls selling everything from tiny tea cups to large garden pots. It is a good place to buy gifts at fair prices, and your guide can help you choose and bargain politely. In the early afternoon we drive back across the river and through the city to the south-western district of Ha Dong, about an hour away depending on traffic. Bat Trang is busiest on weekends, when Hanoi families come to make pottery together, so weekdays are quieter if you prefer a calmer visit. Many shops can also pack and ship larger pieces abroad on request.

   
3. Afternoon Van Phuc Silk Village

   Van Phuc has been weaving silk for centuries and was famous for supplying the royal court. Today the main street is lined with silk shops, but behind them, in the narrow lanes, families still work on clattering looms, dyeing threads and weaving fabrics with traditional patterns. We visit a family workshop to see how silk is prepared and woven, and you have time to browse for scarves and fabric, or to order clothes from a local tailor. We return to your hotel in central Hanoi at around 5:00 PM. Silk shopping tip: real silk feels cool and smooth, and a small flame test shows the difference, but the easiest way is to buy from family workshops that weave on site.