It’s about 20 kilometers from Hanoi center, Son Dong commune in Hoai Duc is famous for being a traditional handicraft village of carving statues, sculptures, especially red lacquer trimmed with gold and silver litmus. From normal wood blocks, numerous specious products are meticulously crafted by the devoted and talented craftsmen like statues of Buddha and worship items, which are commonly seen in most of the pagodas and temples in Hanoi and the North.

 

 

The main products of Son Dong village are statues of Buddha, saints, national heroes, lacquered boards, and sacred animals for worshipping such as horses, cranes. All have the own soul and beauty. It takes several months to create those special products, from choosing the wood to drawing, carving, smoothing and painting, each of which requires craftsmen the high concentration and great patience.

 

 

Especially, the main material that Son Dong artisans use to carve the unique statues is the core of jackfruit trees because this type of wood is quite durable, soft, and rarely cracks.  Most of jackfruit wood purchased from other provinces like Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. While sculpturing, each artisan has his own secret to create unique products. Thanks to the artisans’ skillful hands, Son Dong refined products are not only famous in Vietnam but also exported to China, Thailand, Singapore, and many other countries.

 

 

 

 

At the end of each year, it’s also the peak time. The craftsmen are much busier to fulfill a high number of orders from customers. On your arrival at the village, you can easily hear the interesting sound of sculpting and carving wood as well as admire skillful and soulful products.

 

 

Recently, the village has been recognized as “a trade village that sculpts the largest quantity of statues and worshipping objects for Buddhists” by Vietnam Record Book Center.

According to VietKings (Kyluc.vn)

 
 

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