Lion head-making thrives in Nam Dinh

Gao village in Thanh Loi commune, Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province, has preserved the age-old tradition of making lion heads for the annual full-moon festival which occur in the middle of the eighth lunar month.

During the subsidized economy period several decades ago, the villagers decided to establish a cooperative that only made lion heads for the festival.

The lion heads are made from materials such as used papers, ink and bamboo. Having experienced dramatic changes over the years, there are now only three households in the village still earning a living from making the heads. They maintain the traditional manual work, from building and painting the bamboo frames to arranging and gluing decorative papers to create the final product.

Mr. Duong follows his father's business of making lion heads

Improved lion heads are covered with 3 light and durable layers of fabric

The frame of the lion head is made of rattan and bamboo splints

Gluing the lion heads

The frame and inner layer of a lion head

Duong makes a lion head following a customer’s order

Painting to create lines for lion heads

Unfinished lion heads

Drying the products in the sun