Hanoi Craft Week 2010 kicks off

Hanoi Craft Week 2010 themed ‘A Thousand Years of Quintessence’ opened on August 4 at the Hanoi Friendship Culture Palace, No. 91 Tran Hung Dao street in Hanoi.
At the opening ceremony, 18 artisans were awarded prizes in the contest to design souvenirs for the grand ceremony at Thang Long-Hanoi’s 1000th anniversary.
The event features various activities, including a Hanoi handicraft showroom, performances of craftsmen’s skill, a fashion show entitled ‘Traditional Materials – Modern Performance’, and a seminar on ‘Potential for Development and Tourism in Hanoi’s Traditional Craft Villages.’
The event brought together 52 enterprises, and 28 artisans with nearly 379 traditional handicraft products in various materials, such as pottery, rattan, bamboo, silk, bronze and lacquer.
It also drew the attendance of producers, distributors, equipment and service suppliers to the craft production sector.
As many as 1,270 traditional craft villages are operating in Hanoi today, and many of them have a thousand-year history of development. For centuries, Vietnamese traditional products have been exported to many countries all over the world, including the US, Japan, Russia, the EU and ASEAN countries.
The event, held by the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, provides the opportunity to boost the export of handicraft products and to promote capital’s traditional cultural values over the past 1,000 historic years.
‘A Thousand Years of Quintessence’ will continue until August 9.