Throw a pot in the village that has made ceramics for centuries
The kilns that tiled the record mural
A riverside village of kilns, drying yards and ceramic showrooms, where workshops will put you on an electric wheel with a craftsman and fire what you make.
Why it's unique
Bat Trang has been a working ceramics village on the river for centuries and still supplies the country; the tesserae for the record-holding mosaic mural came from here. It is a production village rather than a craft demonstration.
The distinctive part is the access. For a couple of dollars you sit at a wheel with a craftsman in a village whose entire economy is this, in among working kilns rather than in a studio built for visitors.
Before you go
A wheel session is roughly 100,000 to 150,000 dong. Firing takes far longer than your visit, so either arrange shipping or accept that you are taking home an unfired piece — decide before you start, because it changes what is worth making.
The market at the front is retail and much the same as ceramics shops in the city. The working kilns are in the old lanes behind it, and that is where to walk. The spiral-shaped ceramic museum in the village is worth the detour for the building even if you skip the collection.