An Hoi bronze censer casting village

A bronze censer village keeping a generation's fires burning in the heart of Saigon

Located on Nguyen Duy Cung street in An Hoi Tay ward, Ho Chi Minh City, the An Hoi bronze censer casting village has kept its fires burning for more than a century, becoming a distinctive mark of traditional craft in the middle of the city. The village took shape at the end of the nineteenth century, tied to Tran Van Kinh (Nam Kinh), who is regarded as the man who brought censer casting to An Hoi and passed it on to later generations. What gives An Hoi censers their value is the lost-wax casting technique, done entirely by hand through many stages. From modelling and making the clay mould to applying beeswax, pouring the molten bronze, then filing and engraving, every stage demands precision and experience. The three-piece and five-piece altar sets, Buddha statues and statues of sacred animals stand out for their fine detail and are commonly used in homes as well as in communal houses, pagodas and shrines. On a visit to An Hoi you can clearly feel the atmosphere of a traditional workshop right inside a residential area: the sound of hammers, the sound of chiselling and the glow of the casting furnace make for a space rich in experience. The two months or so before the Lunar New Year are when the workshops are at their busiest. The craft is nevertheless at risk of dying out: by 2026, of more than 20 workshops only about 4 are still keeping it going. This is a fitting destination for anyone who loves craft villages, traditional handicraft and the religious culture of southern Vietnam. Because the workshops sit inside a residential area and are private businesses, visitors should get in touch before coming and ask permission before taking photographs or filming, especially while the craftsmen are casting and pouring bronze.

English text: machine translation from the Localis platform — proper names kept in Vietnamese.