Located in Thanh Ha pottery village –about 3 km to the west of the ancient town of Hoi An, Thanh Ha Terracotta Park was built in 2011, on the area of almost 6,000 square meters by the architect Nguyen Van Nguyen who was born and raised in the village and inspired by the century old traditional way of working of the craftsmen. The park is divided into five functional areas: Nam Dieu village, Creativity Workshop, Trade Promotion, Pottery Museum and An Outdoor Exhibition Area. Each large space has its own story narrated by symbolic pictures, objects, artifacts … which linked together in the 500-year period of establishment and development of Thanh Ha pottery village.
The Thanh Ha village was famous for its pottery, bricks and tiles. Especially the unique Yin – Yang tiles which you can still see on many roofs in the old city of Hoi An. There is so much beautiful to build with bricks. The red bricks, typical for the clay in the region, are also used for the building of the terracotta museum. Same as the village completely surrounded by water, the museum is completely surrounded by the village. Its interior is designed like the houses of the pottery craftsman: the kiln (oven), the potter’s wheel, the workshop and the place for presentation.
The park is modeled after a potter’s wheel. From the wheel, four fingers arise that form the clay and sprinkle the water that is a necessity for pottery. The two big buildings found their origin not only in the Cham and Sa Huynh way of building, but they are also inspired by the two kind of kiln’s in the village: the updraft and the downdraft kiln. When you enter the gallery and walk on the stairways to the top, you know for sure it is an updraft kiln. You move through the building like hot air moves through the kiln. Standing at the stairway on the upper floor that leads to the roof, you see only sky. One visitor noted that it looks like the stairway to heaven, and that might be the feeling of the fire in the updraft kiln. It can escape at the top. On the floor above the gallery products are shown from other Vietnamese terracotta villages. The top floor is dedicated to the excavations that revealed how the Cham built and how people lived in the Sa Huynh time.
The highlight of Thanh Ha Terracotta Park is probably the World Square and the Museum of pottery village. Masterpiece series includes works of art of human architecture & sculpture are clearly and vividly re-appeared, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy), Taj Mahal (India), Sydney Opera House (Australia), the White House (USA), Pyramid (Egypt), Notre Dame (France)… made entirely of clay, made by the artisans in village.
Visitors are always impressed by the charm of the terracotta model park. Terracotta is not as refined or glazing as ceramics. It leaves much more to your own imagination to complete the image. The miniature building populations are landscape of space park.
Thanh Ha Terracotta Park
Thanh Ha village, Hoi An City
Adults need a ticket for visiting the Pottery Village: 30,000vnd/person.
Opening hours: 8:30 – 17:30
For groups and guided tours you can combine with a visit to the old town of Hoi An, contact us for plan your trip.