Vietnamese, Chinese government leaders experience making of Dong Ho folk painting

ABO/NDO- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese Premier Li Qiang got hands-on experience of making Dong Ho folk paintings and visited an exhibition displaying Vietnam’s distinctive agricultural products exported to China in Hanoi on October 13.

Amid the melodic tunes of Quan Ho (love duet) folk songs from the northern province of Bac Ninh, the two leaders admired the making of the traditional Dong Ho paintings demonstrated by local artisans. After observing and learning about the printing techniques, significance, and artistic value of the art genre, they participated in creating one painting titled "Riding a buffalo while playing a flute," which depicts the serene countryside of Vietnam.

The paintings, using woodblock printing techniques, originate from Dong Ho village in Song Ho ward of Bac Ninh’s Thuan Thanh township. Historically, they were primarily sold during the Lunar New Year, with rural residents purchasing them to decorate their walls, only to be replaced with new ones at the end of the year. With significant historical, cultural, and scientific value, the art of making Dong Ho folk paintings has been recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage. Efforts are underway to compile its scientific documentation for submission for UNESCO recognition as an intangible cultural heritage.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang got hands-on experience of making a Dong Ho folk painting. (Photo: VNA).

Afterward, Chinh and Li visited the farm produce exhibition showcasing Vietnamese goods such as swiftlet nest, durian, fresh coconut, banana, coffee, and milk. These items are among Vietnam’s 14 agricultural products officially exported to the Chinese market.

In the first nine months of 2024, Vietnam’s export turnover of agro-forestry-aquatic products to China reached 9.26 billion USD, with fruits and vegetables accounting for 3.4 billion USD, an annual increase of 36%.

During their earlier discussions on the same day, PM Chinh urged China to further open its market for high-quality Vietnamese agricultural products, such as citrus fruits, pomelo, avocado, custard apple, water apple, traditional herbal medicines of plant origin, buffalo meat, beef, pork, livestock and poultry products, and farm-raised ornate spiny lobster. Li said that China will continue to further open its market for Vietnamese goods, especially high-quality agro-aquatic products and fruits.

(Source: NDO)