Dong Ho village, located along the Duong River in northern Vietnam’s Bac Ninh province, has been known for centuries as a center of woodblock folk painting.

At the family workshop in the village, artisan Nguyen Thi Oanh prepared pigments and woodblocks as she demonstrated the process to create a Dong Ho painting, a craft dating back more than 400 years.

It involves multiple steps, including designing, carving and printing.

“The Pig family”, one of the popular Dong Ho paintings, has five colors and it requires five different woodblocks to make the complete painting.

The printing is done by pressing the woodblocks on the paper, one after another after each ink layer is dried.

Nguyen said all the elements to make a Dong Ho painting are sourced from nature.

Before printing, artisans coat 'do' paper with a paste made from rice-based glue and powdered scallop nacre to create a subtle, iridescent effect.

The five basic colors include black from the ash of burnt bamboo leaves; green from indigo, red from earth, yellow from gardenia or pagoda tree flowers and white from ground mother of pearl.

A sixth shade, pink, is sometimes created by layering red and white.

Nguyen said the natural materials reflect the craft’s connection to daily life, noting that the paintings are simple in form yet intricate in technique.

Dong Ho painting historically served both decorative and cultural purposes.

Many images conveyed hopes for prosperity, fertility and good fortune. Others depicted common social scenes or moral lessons.

The craft developed in a farming community, and its themes reflect agricultural life, village customs and local religious beliefs.

“For hundreds of years, Dong Ho folk paintings have played an important role in the lives of the people in Dong Ho village in Bac Ninh Province,” said Pham Cao Quy, the deputy head of the intangible cultural heritage management at the ministry of culture.

But the art is dwindling. Nguyen is among the few artisans left in the village to continue safeguarding the craft.

Industrial printing and modern digital imagery have reduced demand for handmade prints and economic pressures have led some families to shift to other livelihoods.

Despite these challenges, the core techniques of Dong Ho painting remain largely intact in village workshops.

Artisans continue to prepare paper by hand, produce pigments from natural materials and carve woodblocks for both traditional and newly adapted designs.

AP video shot by: Hau Dinh