Nestled at the foot of the mountain where the temple of Tay Phuong is situated, about 35 km from Hanoi, Thach Xa village, Thach That district, Hanoi – a unique bamboo dragonfly-making village draws tourists by its eye-catching bamboo dragonflies.
The village craft of making bamboo dragonflies started booming 20 years ago. Initially Thach Xa villagers made dragonflies as souvenirs for tourists who came sightseeing or to attend a ceremony at nearby Tay Phuong Pagoda. Tourists bought a lot of the toys, which were cheap at less than half dollar. As demand outpaced supply, more and more households got involved in making dragonflies as a main job.
To make a bamboo dragonfly, it takes a lot of time and effort from cutting bamboo trees in the forest to soak it in the pond, then split the bar, broaching, drilling, painting, drawing and drying. To ensure the durability and flexibility for its product, Thach Xa villagers have bought material bamboo from Vinh Phuc, Hoa Binh, or Tuyen Quang which are home to forests of thin but solid bamboo.
Not only that, the people must be passionate, carefully measure and carefully calculate to make a beautiful product.
In addition to the fine-tuning of the individual parts, the remaining steps are done manually. In particular, the most difficult task is the weighing, measuring and adjusting the length between the body and wings.
Visiting the bamboo dragonfly family, you will be overwhelmed by the eye-catching colors, along with the various small designs of the cute bamboo dragonfly.
Each household has a different pattern of dragonfly design that makes anyone unable to take his eyes off.
The dragonfly is able to balance on the fingertip. Although the dragonfly has a long wingspan, just put it on the tip of a finger, or table corner, etc. the dragonfly would not fall, like a real one.
This is also a unique feature of the bamboo dragonfly of Thach Xa.
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