History. Bat Trang village is said to be established in 14^th or 15^thcentury in several documents. However, according to the villagers, thevillage perhaps appeared earlier. There are always two storiesconcerning the village origin. One of these tells that under Lydynasty, in 1100, when the nation was in its independence and initialgrowth period, there were 3 scholars who came back from their missiontrip to China bringing the ceramic craft industry learned there back toVietnam and taught the people of Bat Trang. In the other story, in thevillage history dates back to the 10^th century, when King LyCong Uan relocated the capital in Thang Long. With the establishmentand development of the capital, many businessmen, crafters from manyareas come to settle down here to work and trade. In Bat Trang, therewas a lot of white clay, so that many potters, among whom was NguyenNinh Trang family, came and built the kilns here. Accordingly, BatTrang has gradually changed from a normal ceramic and pottery villageinto a famous ceramic and pottery centre until now.

Astime went by, the village’s products have developed and become wellknown for the best quality, style and glaze, both inside and outside ofthe nation. Many of these are now customized for aristocratic familiesand religious needs. Its popular foreign markets are Japan (under thebrand "Kochi (Giao Chi) ware"), the Netherlands, Britain, Portugal,Southeast Asia, etc.,

The famous ceramic & pottery products

Production Process. Toproduce a complete product, one must follow 3 steps. The first step ismaking the product frame. The artists select the suitable clay, treatit and start making a raw product. It must be repaired to get the bestappearance. Secondly, they decorate and cover it with glazes. Last butnot least, the raw products are baked in 3 days and 3 nights. There areseveral kinds of kiln, yet the temperature must be at 1200⁰ or 1300⁰.After baking, products are brought out, classified and repaired in casethere are mistakes. And now we have the perfect product.

Popular product types. Bat Trang products are divided into 3 kinds based on the purpose of use.

Decorating the product

• Utilitarian wares: including plates, bowls, teacups, kettles, wine bottles, flowerpots, vases, jar… What differs is that they are thicker than Chinese ones.
• Cultwares: comprise lamp stands, candle holders, incense burner, altarboxes, swords… These are valuable for collectors because of inscriptionof the production years, the names of the producers and the potters.
• Decorative objects: house models, altars, statues and architectural fixtures.

The special trait is the diversified decorationson the products. Thanks to a long–lasting history and development, thevillage’s works have been accumulated with a lot of different specialdesigns. One more thing that makes them distinguished is the glaze, which is of high quality and a variety of colors, such as blue, brown, white, moss green, in both breaking and melting glazes.

Infact, there have appeared a number of competitors both domestically andinternationally who take advantages of high technology. Yet mostcustomers prefer the craft products that contain historical andtraditional values. Hence, it is no surprise at all that Bat Trang isstill found in busy days and works. More importantly, the village isnow so popular that absorbs a huge annual number of tourists to visitand buy ceramic goods.