Paper-making is a traditional craft of the Dao ethnic minority people in Thanh Son hamlet, Viet Quang town, Bac Quang district, Ha Giang province.
About 96 out of 126 households in the area still preserve the craft to make their own paper for use in worship rituals and ceremonies. The manual process of making paper uses material from a type of bamboo trees called “vau.”
Young “vau” is chopped, soaked in lime water for about a month; then washed, soaked in water for a while; then masticated and mixed with a solution containing the resin of a forest tree to increase adhesion.
From this mixture, the locals create paper and dry it out under sunlight.
The People’s Army Newspaper would like to introduce some images of the paper-making craft.
Young “vau” is masticated to make material for the paper.
The paper is washed.
Pieces of paper are pressed to remove water.
Separating each piece of paper
Drying out the paper
Translated by Trung Thanh