The road to ancient Duong Lam village. Photo: VNN

Put your helmet on, get on your motorbike, and discover the beauty of the different ancient Vietnamese villages around Hanoi. The tour will cost you only the nominal amount of VND100,000.

Duong Lam, the typical ancient village of the northern countryside

Duong Lam is in Son Tay, Ha Tay, 50km west of Hanoi. Duong Lam is known for its beautiful ancient architecture. At the entrance to the village you will be impressed by the Mong Phu Gate. Dong Sang, Doai Giap communal houses, Can Lam bridge, Mia pagoda and many houses have gates and walls built with laterite bricks. Those and many other unique features impress visitors with the feeling of being in a countryside village hundreds of years ago.

Seven out of 16 relics of ancient architecture in Duong Lam have been recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information such as Ngo Quyen tomb, Phung Hung temple, Mia pagoda.

Many young couples are nowadays choosing Duong Lam as the background for their wedding photos.

Bat Trang and Phu Lang porcelain villages

Bat Trang is less than 10km from the centre of Hanoi. The village is a well-known destination for Hanoi visitors. This is one of the villages where porcelain products are hand made. Realising the potential of the village, many travel agents now offer tours to the village.

Besides exploring the traditional way of making porcelain products tour takers can also try to make some of their own. Tourists can also travel around the huge village on a carriage drawn by a buffalo.

Bat Trang porcelain products have been exported to many different countries in the world.

Also a porcelain village, Phu Lang, nevertheless, has its own special characteristics. While Bat Trang is a village with more tourists and the porcelain products they make are more elaborate and colourful, Phu Lang products are much simpler. The village’s products are mainly dark and light-brown pots.

Van Phuc with silk

Just about 30 minutes by motorbike from the centre of Hanoi, Van Phuc is famous for its silk products.

Shirts, crafts, ties, dresses and many other things made of silk can be found in the village. The special thing is that the silk used there is made with very simple looms. This has attracted many visitors to the village wishing to see the traditional Vietnamese way of making silk.

In order to promote economic development, many houses in the village have been turned into shops selling silk products to customers.

If you want to buy gifts from Vietnam for your foreign friends, you should definitely go to the village. But more than just that, you will have the chance to explore what daily life in Vietnam’s countryside is like. The village also has many historical and cultural relics.

Currently there are also cycling tours available for tourists from Hanoi to these ancient villages.

Source: VNN