(VOVWORLD) - The La Xuyen wood-carving village, formerly in Yen Ninh commune, Y Yen district, Nam Dinh province, and now located in Vu Duong commune, Ninh Binh province, has long been known as the cradle of northern Vietnam’s most renowned traditional wood sculpture. With a history spanning a thousand years, the village is not only an economic pillar of the local community but also a living museum of Vietnamese culture.
 La Xuyen wood-carving village is located right next to National Highway 10. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
From dawn till dusk, La Xuyen resonates with the sounds of saws, lathes, and chisels, while its roads growl with trucks transporting raw materials. Unlike many craft villages where industrialization has overshadowed tradition, La Xuyen has preserved its hand-crafting techniques.
From sketching designs and rough cutting to intricate detailing and final polishing, every stage is meticulously done by hand. The skilled and creative hands of artisans transform lifeless wood into masterpieces adorned with motifs of the four sacred animals (dragon, unicorn, tortoise, and phoenix), the four seasons (symbolized by pine, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and apricot), or delicate depictions of flora, fauna, and mountain landscapes.
 From sketching designs and rough cutting to intricate detailing and final polishing, every stage is meticulously done by hand. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
According to Pham Ngoc Tuan, Party cell secretary of La Xuyen village, La Xuyen is different from other villages. “As a traditional carving village, we place great emphasis on fine details and patterns. Artisans work mainly by hand rather than relying on machines. To make items like ornate wooden platforms and tea cabinets, workers chisel manually. The essence is never lost—no other place can replicate what we do here,” Tuan noted.
The 16-hectare La Xuyen industrial craft village cluster is home to 30 enterprises and 1,000 production facilities that provide jobs for 5,000 locals. Many establishments have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in modern wood-processing machinery, while expanding their scale, forming a busy “craft street” along National Highway 10 with hundreds of showrooms and furniture minimarkets. Their products meet domestic demand and are exported to China, Thailand, Japan, and European markets.
 Artisan Nguyen Van Duc performs the final touches on a product. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
Artisan Duong Van Hien, Director of the Golden La Xuyen company in Vu Duong commune, said that the transportation system is now very convenient, and because of our diverse designs and high quality, customers from overseas and distant provinces come here to shop. “We are focused on building a strong brand for the village, developing premium products, and promoting them both domestically and globally,” said Hien.
Today, La Xuyen is not only a production hub but also an emerging destination for tourists, who come to see the sophisticated wood-making process firsthand. Visitor Duong Van Bach told VOV that he has visited many wood-carving villages—Phu Khe, Kim Thieu, Dong Ky, Du Du, and Thiet Ung—but his friends and him particularly favor La Xuyen’s carvings because of their uniqueness—from bamboo-style furniture sets and pieces crafted from ancient roots to exquisitely carved dragon chairs.
Pham Thi Phuong, owner of a fine arts production facility in La Xuyen, said, “International visitors mainly come to tour the village and film our products. Groups from China, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong, Japan, and other Asian countries do purchase our products, but more importantly, they come to find a reliable source to export to their home market.”
 Signature products of La Xuyen wood-carving village include tables and chairs, ornate wooden platforms and tea cabinets, decorative door arches, and altar tables. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
The village management board and local authorities are stepping up promotion of the La Xuyen brand through trade fairs and exhibitions, combined with digital technology applications. At the same time, a model linking the craft village with experiential tourism is being accelerated, said Tran Ba Huan, Deputy Chairman of the Vu Duong commune People’s Committee.
“We’re pushing digital transformation to promote our village’s products. Businesses and households now have clearer orientations toward their target customers,” said Huan, adding, “We have also mapped out plans to develop the craft village in tandem with tourism. We hope visitors to Ninh Binh’s famous landmarks will stop by La Xuyen to sightsee and shop.”
Preserving and developing the La Xuyen wood-carving craft in parallel with tourism is giving the village a way to show its culture to the world. This model brings sustainable economic benefits while safeguarding the traditional craft amid global integration.