Bat Trang, traditional porcelain and pottery village with history of seven centuries, is an interesting attraction in Hanoi that tourists should not ignore. Bat Trang, a small village in the north of Vietnam, is about 13 kilometers south east of Hanoi center, on the other side of Chuong Duong bridge. Why is its name popular to most tourists to northern Vietnam? The answer is its ever famous ceramic and pottery products of high quality. If you have known about Vietnam, you may not be surprised that Bat Trang’s vases, bowls, dishes, and many other kinds of ceramic products have been exported worldwide.

History Located in an area rich in clay, lying besides the Red river, the village has advantage of ingredients to create fine ceramics. Bat Trang Village is said to be established in 14^th or 15^th century in several documents. There are always two stories concerning the village origin. One of these tells that under Ly dynasty, in 1100, when the nation was in its independence and initial growth period, there were 3 scholars who came back from their mission trip to China bringing the ceramic craft industry learned there back to Vietnam and taught the people in Bat Trang Village. In the other story, in the village history dates back to the 10^th century, when King Ly Cong Uan relocated the capital in Thang Long. With the establishment and development of the capital, many businessmen, crafters from many areas come to settle down here to work and trade. In Bat Trang, there was a lot of white clay, so that many potters, among them was Nguyen Ninh Trang family, came and built the kilns here. Accordingly, Bat Trang has gradually changed from a normal ceramic and pottery village into a famous ceramic and pottery centre until now.

Products Bat Trang ceramics are produced for daily household use (bow, cup, plates, pot, bottle…), worshipping, or decoration purposes. Nowadays, the pottery artists bring into ceramics many innovations in production techniques, and creativity in products’ features, hence many new products have been born, and even daily household items may have the beauty like decoration ones. Production Process: To produce a complete product, one must follow 3 steps. The first step is making the product frame. The artists select the suitable clay, treat it and start making a raw product. It must be repaired to get the best appearance. Secondly, they decorate and cover it with glazes. Last but not least, the raw products are baked in 3 days and 3 nights. There are several kinds of kiln, yet the temperature must be at 1200⁰ or 1300⁰. After baking, products are brought out, classified and repaired in case there are mistakes. And now we have the perfect product. The special trait is the diversified decorations on the products. Thanks to a long–lasting history and development, the village’s works have been accumulated with a lot of different special designs. One more thing that makes them distinguished is the glaze, which is of high quality and a variety of colors, such as blue, brown, white, moss green, in both breaking and melting glazes.

Activity Bat Trang ceramic village has become a popular destination for the young living in Hanoi (college or high school students) to visit during weekends. It has also become famous among foreign tourists who want to understand more about the historical and traditional values in each handicraft product. There are a lot of travel agencies that offer one day tour from Hanoi to the village at reasonable prices. Choose a Bat Trang ceramic village tour that best fits your time frame and visit this beautiful village and may be buy some ceramic goods as souvenirs for your trip in Vietnam. Visiting Bat Trang, tourists can take a walk or join a buffalo tour for sightseeing and shopping. Besides many ceramic stores along the road in the village, tourists should visit  Bat Trang Porcelain and Pottery Market where they can directly make pottery products by themselves. Many youngsters and foreign tourists are interested in in this pottery- making experience, and spend a whole day in the market to make a gift for family or friends.

Location Bat Trang belongs to Gia lam district of Hanoi. You can catch the bus 47 (Long Bien- Bat Trang) that stop just a few steps from Dong Xuan market with the end terminal in Bat Trang. The bus runs every 20 minutes. You can also ride a motorbike from the center of Hanoi to Bat Trang ( 20 minutes) – rent one or ask a Xe Om to take you there.