Phuoc Tinh Ancient Village - Preserving the quiet and charming beauty of an ancient Vietnamese village

Phuoc Tinh ancient village was established in 1470, under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, when the feudal state   Dai Viet expanded its territory to the South. This village lies quietly by the O Lau River, in Phong Hoa Commune, Phong Dien District, Thua Thien - Hue Province.

The village is a complex of ancient houses, with more than 100 houses, of which 37 are over 100 years old, and the temples are still intact. There are 12 extremely rare houses, 150 - 200 years old with extremely sophisticated features.

Not only bearing the beauty of the traditional Hue house design, the house in Phuoc Tich also has many unique features. Under the talented hands of the carpenters of the famous My Xuyen carpentry village nearby, the parts of the house such as rafters, trusses, beams, panels, triple-layered panels, and doors are carved extremely elaborately and delicately.

In addition, the ancient beauty of Phuoc Tich is also created by the straight rows of tea trees and the lush green tigon flower trellis. At the beginning of the village is located a fig tree that is over 600 years old, with a trunk circumference of 3-4 adult arm spans.

According to Mr. Le Trong Dao - the owner of an ancient house here, Phuoc Tich people consider the cultural values ​​of the village as their own flesh and blood. They always try their best to preserve them, even though life is difficult, they still try to save up to restore the house to preserve the heritage for future generations.

In 2009, Phuoc Tich ancient village was recognized as a National Monument and became a favorite destination for tourists from near and far when visiting Hue.

Phuoc Tinh Ancient Village - The village born from pottery

Visiting the village, tourists can easily see pieces of pottery and terracotta scattered on the ground everywhere. Under each old house, there are still ceramic household products such as dooc (a jar without a rim, typical of the village), jars, mortars, om, and trach... It is not surprising because Phuoc Tich used to be a famous pottery village.

Pottery was once closely associated with the lives of villagers and became the main cultural activity... At first, the pottery products made by villagers included bowls, cups, vases... which were simple but no less sophisticated.

Mr. Le Trong Dien (70 years old) said: "In the past, people here were born to make pottery, it was called a hereditary profession, all the people in the village made pottery".

The 16th-17th centuries were the most prosperous period of the ancient village of Phuoc Tich, the village's pottery was popular and helped the people to make a living. During this time, the village had 12 pottery kilns that were constantly burning, and the products were widely consumed throughout the Central region.

Currently, in his traditional house, Mr. Le Trong Dien is displaying ceramic relics such as jars, pots, kettles, pepper mortars, basins... with all 63 designs of Phuoc Tich pottery village.

"Phuoc Tich pottery village is characterized by firing pottery at high temperatures. The products are carefully crafted at every stage, requiring the potter to be attentive and meticulous," said Mr. Luong Thanh Hien, who has 20 years of experience making pottery in the village.

After more than 5 centuries of prosperity, in the 40s of the 20th century, when France and the US entered Vietnam, plastic and aluminum products gradually became popular, ceramic products were less popular, and the pottery profession gradually faded away from that time. Currently, Mr. Luong Thanh Hien is the only person who still maintains the traditional Phuoc Tich pottery making.

Rich in tradition of learning, with more than 30 professors and doctors

No longer able to stick to the pottery profession, since the pottery kilns in the village gradually went out of fire, the people of Phuoc Tich village began to direct their children towards education. From then on, learning to read and write was considered the new "livelihood" of the villagers.

Speaking of learning, Phuoc Tich is a studious village.   The most famous village in Hue. This village is home to more than 30 professors and doctors in various fields, and countless bachelors and masters.

Talking about some outstanding names of studious people, Mr. Luong Thanh Hien mentioned Associate Professor, Dr. Truong The Ky, Professor, Dr. Phan An and many other famous names who were all talents born in Phuoc Tich village.

Mr. Hoang Tan Minh - Head of Phuoc Tich village said: "Talking about education, there is no place in Hue that can surpass Phuoc Tich village. Education is always the top priority of the villagers".

Mr. Le Trong Nam (68 years old, former Principal of Phuoc My Primary School) said that Phuoc Tich's children have risen through their studies and followed many careers, of which teaching and medicine are the two most common.

Currently, almost every family in Phuoc Tich village has at least one person who is a teacher.