Bau Truc pottery village in Ninh Thuan Province is highly recommended by travel guidebooks as this is where Cham ethnic people produce exotic pottery items.
The village lies by National Highway 1A in Phuoc Dan Town, Ninh Phuoc District, about 10 kilometers from Phan Rang City.
Bau Truc is one of the oldest pottery villages in Southeast Asia and has been listed as a national intangible cultural heritage. The village has an exhibition house for displaying pottery products and related equipment.
Legend has it that a man identified as Po Klong Chanh and his wife began making pottery in the village thousands of years ago. On March 3, villagers organize an annual ceremony in honor of them in October.
Bau Truc pottery products are made of clay from the Quao River. Villagers gather clay over a period of two weeks once a year and store it at home for making pottery all year round. Despite technological advances, Cham people in Ninh Thuan still keep the tradition of making pottery manually.
Artisans do not use the potter’s wheel but they walk around a product and then form it into the shape they want using their skillful hands.
There are a wide range of pottery products in Bau Truc such as statues and embossments of Cham women, kings, dancing women and towers, flower vases, plates, and pots.
Products of Bau Truc do not have the same color as those created from a mass production line. Their main color is red brown embellished with lines of red yellow, red pink, and black grey.
Although they do not look eye-catching, Bau Truc pottery products are lighter, more durable and cheaper than other products.