Our Vietnam photography tour destination today is a village located 1.5 hour driving from Hanoi. This is where the locals have long involved in making incense sticks. Then, the sticks travel to all over Vietnam to find themselves burning on family alters or in temples. Photographs of these sticks have been published on some famed channels, including CNN. And some others gained awards from Smithsonian photo contests.
Quang Phu Cau incense village
Incense plays an important role in the Vietnamese spiritual life as it is used in temples, pagodas, shrines and other worshipping places. Every Vietnamese family has an altar, where they worship their ancestors. The must for this practice is burning incense, since an incense is believed to be a bridge connecting the 02 worlds of the alive and the spirits.
Quang Phu Cau has long been one of the largest incense stick makers in Vietnam. Each stick is the end of a long process, from cutting bamboo shoots to splitting them into smaller rods, then sticks. Finally, the sticks are dyed and dried out in the sun. Red is often the color of the dye, as it represents lucks, happiness.
What makes it truly photogenic is when these sticks are dried. Since they’re tied in bundles, the workers would then stand and spread each bundle to make sure the sticks get dried more quickly. Numerous bundles are laid in the yard, each shapes like an umbrella.
From here, the sticks travel to different parts of Vietnam and South Asia.
During the drying process, the workers would go around, carefully selecting the bad sticks to take out from the bundles. Making incense is a spiritual work for the locals, and they do their best to ensure the quality. Later on, these sticks are collected and tied in bundles. They are then loaded onto a truck and transferred to a place where the next treating step takes place.
There are different incense villages in northern Vietnam, and Quang Phu Cau is among the most photogenic. Come with Momentlives and photograph this unique scene!
