HỘI AN — Local craftsmen from Hội An will gather to share their stories and experience as well as demonstrate craft trades at the Hội An Creative Week 2026 from August 28 to September 2, showing off the unique beauty and precious value of the world heritage site.

The Hội An World Cultural Heritage Conservation Centre said the event, entitled: ‘Embrace Heritage, Inspire Creativity’, will include a series of craft exhibitions and displays as well as conferences on the cultural heritage and community creative value of Hội An.

It said main programmes will take place at the Hoài River Square, An Hội Sculpture Park, the Old Quarter, craft villages and the Chàm Islands.

Hội An plans to show a map of the Arts and Creative Space in the ancient town for the five-day event, the centre shared.

Cultural researchers, local craftspeople and the community will be joining dialogues about hand-made trade villages and the digitalisation process in the preservation and development of crafts in the ancient town.

Local traditional crafts, which have been developed and honed in the town for centuries, continue to serve as a significant source of livelihood for numerous families and craftspeople, encompassing trades such as carpentry, terracotta, lantern-making, bamboo work, nipa-palm processing, garment production, and leather crafting.

Demonstrations and craft experience spaces will be available in the villages of Cẩm Thanh, Thanh Hà, Trà Quế, Kim Bồng and the Old Quarter zone from day to late evening throughout the week.

Out of the five craft villages, three, along with one trade, have been bestowed the status of national intangible heritage. Meanwhile, the remaining two villages are in the process of compiling dossiers to seek recognition.

Hội An ancient town joined as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the Crafts and Folk Art category in 2023

Hội An ancient town has received eight national heritage certificates including the annual Nguyên Tiêu (full moon day of lunar January) Festival, Thanh Châu edible bird's nest, Thanh Hà pottery village, Kim Bồng carpentry village, Trà Quế vegetable planting village, the mid-autumn Full Moon Festival (on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month), Chàm Islands’ hammock weaving from tree bark strings, and making houses from bamboo and nipa palms in the Cẩm Thanh Commune.

Folk arts in Hội An have been preserved as a consistent feature in traditional festivals and communal activities.

The centre reported that there are 1,700 households and 685 small-scale enterprises engaged in crafts and the performance of folk arts with about 4,000 labourers and craftsmen and women.

The old town, which was recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, has 1,439 relics and old houses, of which 80 per cent belong to the Old Quarter, built between 100 and 200 years ago. — VNS