Hanoi introduces tours of craft villages

The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade is conducting research on local craft villages to put together five tours for tourists to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
The villages include Chuon Ngo mosaic village, Thang Loi embroidery village, Ha Thai lacquer village, Van Phuc silk village, Son Dong sculpture village, Bat Trang ceramic village, Kieu Ky village and Tay Phuong pagoda.
Tours of these craft villages will also examine the cultural and historical charactristics of the villages as well as highlighting the skills of local artisans. Developing tourism pacakages to craft villages also helps to introduce local handicrafts to tourists and provides an outlet for their products.
The department is expected to work with several travel agencies to put these tours into operation by the end of this month.