Artisans from the Japanese city of Saijo have, for the first time, introduced their traditional crafts to Vietnamese friends at the fifth Hue Traditional Craft Festival that opened on April 27.

On display were lovely dolls wearing Japan ’s traditional kimonos made from Shyusou paper, a traditional material produced by Saijo people for years.

Visitors also had a chance to enjoy the special taste of Oni ita Senbei rice crackers, which are usually baked or grilled traditionally over charcoal.

Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment.

Meanwhile, French and other foreign artisans and experts brought to the festival 80 ancient and modern woven and embroidered products made of such materials as tree leaves and bark, rattan, horse-tail hairs and metal, reflecting the development of the world’s rich garment and textile industry.

The exhibition was co-organised by the city of Clermont-Ferrand , the Projects Association and Bargoin Museum of France.

Within the five-day festival’s framework, a workshop was held on April 28 to evaluate the development of craft villages in combination with tourism in the ancient capital city of Hue .

Participants at the event discussed feasible ways to make the best use of craft heritage for tourism development.

They also proposed rolling out a master plan for Hue ’s sustainable tourism development during the period between now and 2020.

Thua Thien-Hue is now home to over 69 traditional craft villages. In 2012, trades and traditional craft villages generated jobs for over 2,500 local people.

A photo exhibition for six central northern provinces and a fashion show featuring collections by designers from the host country, the Philippines, France and Hong Kong also took place on the same day.-VNA