From basic tools, residents in Thong Nhat commune, Thuong Tin district, the capital city of Hanoi could produce simple and useful glassware like light bulbs, bottles, vases, vacuum flask stoppers or any other delicate products according to customers’ demands. Since the 1960s, glass blowing has been the main source of income for most of the local people in Thong Nhat commune. Among villages in the commune, Giap Long and Hoang Xa villages are the most developed areas with a large number of skilled workers who can produce complicated and delicate glassware. According to Le Xuan Tien, who has more than 20 years of experience in glassware making in Thong Nhat commune, almost all villagers engaged in the job ten years ago. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Le Duy Dai, born in 2000, is working at Le Xuan Tien’s workshop. He is working diligently to make glass products. Glass-blower Le Xuan Tien and his workers do not let the brutal temperatures blanketing the Vietnamese capital keep them from turning out beautiful pieces of art in their 20-square-meter workshop in Hoang Xa Village, Thong Nhat Commune, Thuong Tin District. Tien and his workers spend days skillfully blowing air through one end of a long glass pipe in order to create various pieces for his customers. They refuse to let their swollen, blistered mouths stand in the way of their passion. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
In order to make good products, the glassblowers should know glass very well. When glass is put into fire, it is green; when molten glass turns transparent, it is ready to be blown. Then, glassblowers just need to slightly blow to introduce air to the molten blob of glass to make it expand into desired shapes. Residents living in Thong Nhat commune, on the outskirts district of Thuong Tin are following in their families’ footsteps, pursuing the ancient art of glass-blowing to sculpt magnificent bottles and tableware using rudimentary tools and techniques handed down from generations past. In the photo: Dai is able to shape up a glass product after a short time. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Although sales were slowing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, local villagers have to keep up the job to ensure livelihoods. Since the 1960s, glass blowing has been the main source of income for most of the local people in Thong Nhat commune. Among the villages in the commune, Giap Long village is the most developed area with a large number of skilled workers who can produce complicated and delicate glass items. According to Le Xuan Tien, who has more than 20 years of experience in glassware making in Thong Nhat commune, almost all villagers engaged in the job ten years ago. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glass blowing is a family tradition for Le Xuan Tien, with the techniques he uses having been passed down from his grandparents to him over a period of nearly three decades. Working long days in his small workshop surrounded by broiling flames has taught him the beauty of struggling to produce masterpieces. For Tien, it is all about the art. As a business his profits are small, but as an artist his returns are massive. “The COVID-19 pandemic forced the facility to shut down for a period of time so now I’m playing catch-up to deliver enough products to my customers,” he explained. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Tien employs three workers who mainly specialize in producing glass tubes used for feeding birds. Together, they churn out approximately 1,000 products each day. “In my parents’ day, nearly the entire commune blew glass, but everyone started giving up the job around ten years ago because of its difficulty and low pay,” said Tien. Many, Tien says, have even moved out of the commune to find employment in other parts of the country. “In this village, only four to five households still blow glass in the traditional way,” he said, adding that other households still produce glass, but do so using machinery that can turn out products much faster than old school methods. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glass blowing is even tougher during scorching summer when the temperature could reach 40 degree Celsius. The glass blower mixes a blob of molten glass with the end of a long pipe and blows air into the other end, which makes the blob swell. With an ever-increasing demand from customers, many households in Thong Nhat Commune have invested in modern machines to mass produce medical instruments such as glass ampoules. Nguyen Van Hue, owner of an ampoule producing workshop in Giap Long Village, acknowledged that in 2010 he invested in a machine with a capacity of around 100kg of glass products (approximately 10,000 ampoules) a day. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Since the 1960s, glass blowing has been the main source of income for most of the local people in Thong Nhat commune. At that time, villagers produced simple items such as Philatop syringe, bulb, bottle and jar, among others. Increasing demands from customers far and wide have forced villagers to find a way to improve their productivity. Luong Van Trai, a local resident who own a test tube production facility, said his family spent around 8,500 USD on buying a machine to help increase productivity. The machine can replace the workload of 10 to 15 workers, so the job is much easier. The initial state, however, still involves manual work to create raw glass tubes. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glass-blowing is a traditional occupation at Hoang Xa village, Thong Nhat vommune, Thuong Tin district on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam. In order to make good products, the glassblowers should know glass very well. When glass is put into fire, it is green; when molten glass turns transparent, it is ready to be blown. Then, glassblowers just need to slightly blow to introduce air to the molten blob of glass to make it expand into desired shapes. Making products out of glass requires many stages, including one which involves heating a glass tube to create shorter pieces. Choosing materials for glass blowing is of the utmost importance. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
A skillful glass-blower needs to know the ‘ripeness’ of glass. As glass is initially exposed to fire, it will appear blue in color before turning white. At that time, a slight blow is enough to mold the blob of molten glass into products of their desired shape, according to the professional glass-smith Le Xuan Tien. The glass-blowing technique plays a crucial role in creating products. A glass blower has to hold his breath properly to produce specific products. From basic tools, residents in Thong Nhat commune, Thuong Tin district, the capital city of Hanoi could produce simple and useful glassware like light bulbs, bottles, vases, vacuum flask stoppers or any other delicate products according to customers’ demands. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Ho Quang Hien, a professional glass-smith with more than 34 years of experience, said that besides simple items, his workshop is able to make complex products. In a bid to make sound items, Hien has to work in an extremely harsh condition with temperature of the torch lighter reaching over 700 degrees Celsius. Glass blowers in Hoang Xa village, Thong Nhat commune, Thuong Tin district spend days skillfully blowing air through one end of a long glass pipe in order to create various pieces for their customers. They refuse to let their swollen, blistered mouth stand in the way of their passion. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The glass-blowing technique plays a crucial role in creating products. A glass-blower has to hold his breath properly to produce specific products. A skillful glass-blower needs to know the ‘ripeness’ of glass. As glass is initially exposed to fire, it will appear blue in color before turning white. At that time, a slight blow is enough to mold the blob of molten glass into products of their desired shape. Although sales were slowing due to COVID-19, local villagers have to keep up the job to ensure livelihoods. Since the 1960s, glass blowing has been the main source of income for most of the local people in Thong Nhat commune. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glass-blowing is a traditional occupation at Hoang Xa village, Thong Nhat vommune, Thuong Tin district on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam. Nguyen Van Hue, owner of an ampoule producing workshop in Giap Long Village, acknowledged that in 2010 he invested in a machine with a capacity of around 100kg of glass products (approximately 10,000 ampoules) a day. With mounting orders, in early 2014, he bought another new machine with the double capacity to timely produce a huge volume of products ordered by domestic and foreign pharmaceutical firms. So far, three out of five villages of Thong Nhat Commune, namely Hoang Xa, Thuong Giap and Giap Long communes, have workshops with modern machines to produce medical instruments, he said. (Photo: VietnamPlus). 
From basic tools, residents in Thong Nhat commune, Thuong Tin district, the capital city of Hanoi could produce simple and useful glassware like light bulbs, bottles, vases, vacuum flask stoppers or any other delicate products according to customers’ demands. Since the 1960s, glass blowing has been the main source of income for most of the local people in Thong Nhat commune. Among villages in the commune, Giap Long village is the most developed area with a large number of skilled workers who can produce complicated and delicate glassware. According to Le Xuan Tien, who has more than 20 years of experience in glassware making in Thong Nhat commune, almost all villagers engaged in the job ten years ago. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glass-blowing is a family tradition for Tien, with the techniques he uses having been passed down from his grandparents to him over a period of nearly three decades. Working long days in his small workshop surrounded by broiling flames has taught him the beauty of struggling to produce masterpieces. For Tien, it is all about the art. As a business his profits are small, but as an artist his returns are massive. “The COVID-19 pandemic forced the facility to shut down for a period of time so now I’m playing catch up to deliver enough products to my customers,” he explained. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
There was a time that the craft of glass blowing in Thong Nhat commune was thought to have slipped into oblivion. However, local people have worked to keep it alive as a way to preserve the quintessence of the traditional craft while ensuring their stable income. Since the 1960s, the glass blowing work has been the main source of income for most of the local people in Thong Nhat commune. Among villages in the commune, Giap Long and Hoang Xa villages are the most developed area with a large number of skilled workers who can produce complicated and delicate glass products. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Along with traditional glass products, many households in Thong Nhat commune have won contracts to supply glass items for education and healthcare establishments. In order to make good products, the glassblowers should know glass very well. When glass is put into fire, it is green; when molten glass turns transparent, it is ready to be blown. Then, glassblowers just need to slightly blow to introduce air to the molten blob of glass to make it expand into desired shapes. The glass-blowing technique plays a crucial role in creating products. A glass-blower has to hold his breath properly to produce specific products. A skillful glass-blower needs to know the ‘ripeness’ of glass. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glassblowing is a glass forming technique which was invented by the Syrian craftsman in the 1st century BC somewhere along the Syro-Palestinian coast. The establishment of the Roman Empire provided motivation and dominance of glass production by this method, the use of blown glass for everyday tasks spread. The Phoenicians set up the first glass workshops on the eastern borders of the Empire, in the birthplace of glassblowing in contemporary Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, as well as in the province of Cyprus. The glassblowing technique has also reached Egypt. By the Middle Ages, Venice had become a major center of glass making. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Glassblowing involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube. Glassblower, glass-smith or gaffer is a person who blows glass. Glassblowing involves three furnaces. The major tools involved are the blowpipe (or blow tube), the punty (or pontil), bench, marver, blocks, jacks, paddles, tweezers, paper and a variety of shears. A full range of glassblowing techniques was developed within decades of its invention. Before the invention of the metal blowpipes, the ancient glassworkers made clay blowpipes, also known as mouth blowers, due to the accessibility and availability of the resources. Two major methods of glassblowing are free-blowing and mold-blowing. (Photo: VietnamPlus) VNA
