Sơn Đồng wood sculpture and Lai Xá photography village – Hoài Đức craft village tour (1 day)

Introduction

Two villages in Hoài Đức preserve two ways of capturing the human image. Sơn Đồng has carved worship statues for communal houses and pagodas across northern Vietnam for over a thousand years; visitors watch artisans carve wood, apply vermilion lacquer and gilding, and paint a small statue themselves. Lai Xá is the country's only photography craft village, with a museum built by contributions from the villagers themselves.

Highlights

• Sơn Đồng statue workshop: wood preparation, rough carving, fine carving, vermilion lacquering and gilding
• Paint and decorate a small wooden statue or relief panel yourself
• Stroll through the altar goods street: statues, horizontal plaques, couplets
• Lai Xá Photography Museum: vintage cameras, lenses from Khánh Ký photo studio, early 20th-century portraits
• Stroll through the photography village and take your own set of village photos

Suitable for

• Travelers who love craft villages, traditional fine arts, and photography
• Small groups and families who want to make handicrafts themselves

Services included

• Car transfers according to the program
• Vietnamese-speaking guide throughout the journey (English-speaking guide quoted upon request)
• Sightseeing tickets and workshop fees
• Family-style lunch
• Drinking water on the bus

Services not included

• Drinks outside the set menu
• Shopping and personal expenses