Tho Ha Village

Tho Ha sits on a bend of the Cau river, effectively an island reached by a small ferry, and it made unglazed pottery for centuries - large storage jars, urns and pipes - until the trade collapsed in the twentieth century. What is left is built into the place: the lanes are walled with broken jars, kiln waste and pot shards set into mortar, so the village is literally constructed from its own failed production, and the alleys are narrow enough to touch both sides. The village now makes rice paper and noodles, dried on racks along the riverbank, and its communal house and pagoda are among the finer ones in the region.

What you actually see

• Walls built from broken pots - shards and kiln waste set in mortar.
• Very narrow lanes - between those walls.
• Rice paper drying on the bank - the trade that replaced pottery.
• A fine communal house and pagoda - from the prosperous years.

When to go

Year round; the festival is in the first lunar month. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Access is by a small ferry that runs on demand. The village is dense and lanes are tight. There is little interpretation. It is a working village and rice paper production takes up the public space.

Nearby

Bac Ninh and its pagodas are south; Bac Giang is east.