HCMC tourism complex to showcase traditional crafts

An ecotourism complex in Ho Chi Minh City dedicated to Vietnam’s 20 traditional crafts will open its doors to visitors February 14, the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Work on the “Mot Thoang Viet Nam” (Passage to Vietnam) complex began in 1991 in suburban Cu Chi District, 50 kilometers from downtown HCMC.
Built by the Vietnam Association of Craft Villages (VICRAFTS) at a cost of VND98 billion (US$5.3 million), it seeks to conjure up the images of an agriculture-based country and people’s way of living around the country and promote and preserve the traditional crafts.
Visitors can see craftsmen weaving and making paper, pottery, and jewelry and try their hand at some of the skills themselves under the artisans’ instructions.
Other traditional crafts showcased here include embroidery, stone and wood carving, sugar making, gardening, and woodblock painting.
It also has 53 houses built in the authentic styles used around the country.
The 20-hectare complex site is covered with 500 species of plants and trees commonly found in the country, including 50 species of bamboo, a symbol of Vietnam.
The country has more than 2,000 villages where a unique traditional craft is practiced, often for the last hundreds of years.