Attractive destination of Bien Hoa Pottery - Heritage Road

As part of the series of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts has built the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road.

Not only a place to preserve the essence of earth, water, and fire, the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road is also a testament to a journey of preserving and developing the traditional pottery craft with dedication and aspiration for integration. Through this, it creates a cultural highlight, attracting the attention of locals and tourists.

A Vibrant Heritage Painting

The Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road is implemented on an area of nearly 1 thousand m² within the campus of Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts. This space is like an open-air museum, designed to vividly recreate the formation and development process of traditional pottery in the Southern region, with the prominent Bien Hoa - Dong Nai pottery line appearing from ancient times to the present.

Dr. Truong Duc Cuong, Principal of Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts, said that the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road at the school is divided into many areas, each displaying typical pottery works from different historical periods. Locals and tourists can experience and admire ancient pottery products, contemporary art works, and participate in traditional pottery making activities.

The Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road at Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts has been and is introducing the space of Bien Hoa pottery with new designs, combining neoclassical and modern styles. The harmonious combination of art pottery and consumer pottery with vibrant colors, carved, engraved, glazed... creates a unique highlight of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai pottery.

Right from the entrance to the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road, a 75m long mural depicts the old pottery craft, from rudimentary carts, traditional wood-fired kilns, to images of old craft villages. Interspersed are outdoor art sculpture clusters, or symbols of famous pottery regions: Bien Hoa Vocational School, later renamed Bien Hoa Indigenous Arts School (now Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts), Bat Trang (Hanoi), Bau Truc (Ninh Thuan)... All blend into a vibrant heritage painting, connecting the country, past, present, and future.

Participating in the implementation of the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road, artist Nguyen Quoc Trong, a former student of Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts, said that he is responsible for 5 main items in this art project including: the welcome gate, traditional pottery kiln model, rural pottery, pottery waterfall, and skylight. Through his works, he hopes to contribute to introducing and promoting the unique cultural value of Bien Hoa pottery to the public, especially young people.

Where Art and Experience Flourish

The heritage road does not stop at displaying and introducing pottery artifacts, but Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts also dedicates over 400m² of the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - Heritage Road as a practical space to serve students and the public who love pottery. Here, locals and participating tourists can directly spin pottery, mold pottery, glaze, and fire products - experiencing the complete journey of "breathing soul into the earth".

In particular, collections from Bat Trang, Bau Truc, and Bien Hoa pottery are present as vivid historical pages recounting the diversity and uniqueness of Vietnamese pottery culture. From folk symbols like Chi Pheo, Thi No, to images of Apsara dance, the hundred-year-old Long Bien Bridge, or Cat Tien National Park, Mo waterfall, and Buu Long... Cultural values were designed and constructed by teachers and students of Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts in just 20 days,skillfully "packaged" in every layer of clay and glaze.

Dr. Truong Duc Cuong expressed hope that in the near future, the people of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai will be proud to have found effective solutions to limit the risk of the traditional pottery craft fading away. This great responsibility rests on the shoulders of today's generation, those with the mission to preserve and promote the value of heritage, transforming heritage into a unique asset of the Southern region in general, and Dong Nai in particular. The journey of this hope and aspiration is being realized through the Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - the heritage road, contributing to connecting with the smokeless industry and opening up opportunities for the pottery craft to increasingly develop on the international stage.

"The new experiential space Bien Hoa Pottery Destination - the heritage road is considered a place to nurture the pottery craft to continue to promote and develop according to the Party's policy 'culture remains, the nation remains'. The cultural identity of the traditional pottery village is the source of inspiration for those who love pottery and are passionate about art to freely express themselves. Bien Hoa pottery is not only a heritage, but also a driving force promoting development with a unique mark of the Southern region - where we have and are valuing, placing the pottery craft in its rightful position in the flow of cultural heritage" - Dr. Truong Duc Cuong emphasized.

Reported by Ly Na