Craft of making Đông Hồ Folk woodblock printings
Inscribed in 2025 (20.COM) on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding
Đông Hồ Folk woodblock printing is the practice of creating colourful prints using carved wooden blocks, observed in a village forming part of Bắc Ninh province. The themes of these prints often include worship, history, daily life and landscapes. The entire process is carried out by hand, from drawing the design with ink on special paper, to carving the image onto woodblocks, preparing natural colour pigments, and printing the image on a special paper coated with scallop powder. Colours are applied in a specific order, with black outlines added in the final step to complete the picture.
Đông Hồ Folk woodblock printings are closely linked to important festivals such as the Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as to rituals honouring ancestors and deities. Today, a small number of families continue this craft, passing down the related knowledge and skills within their households and to apprentices through hands-on training and close mentorship. Some parts of the process, such as designing images and carving blocks, require dedicated training and are mastered over many years. The woodblocks used for printing are treasured family heirlooms that are handed down through generations.
