Build a lantern on the folding frame one man reinvented
Twelve ribs and a wire
Lantern workshops throughout the old town. Roughly two hours, booking sensible.
Why it's unique
The Hoi An lantern as it now exists is not an unbroken tradition. The craft lapsed after the war, and it was revived in the 1990s by the artisan Huynh Van Ba, who designed the collapsible bamboo frame under stretched silk that the whole trade now uses.
That design is why the lantern became Hoi An's export and why you can get one home in a suitcase. Making one is a craft class with a specific, datable local invention behind it rather than a generic souvenir workshop.
Before you go
The first hour is the frame, and that is the part that matters. Twelve bamboo ribs are threaded onto a wire and bent by hand, and if the bending is uneven the silk will never sit right afterwards. Take your time before choosing colours.
Ask specifically for the collapsible frame. Some classes now hand out pre-made rigid frames, and the folding is the entire point of the design.
Choose the silk last, once you can see the shape you have actually made.