About Phia Thap Incense Village
Phia Thap Incense Village is a traditional craft village in Phia Thap hamlet, Phuc Sen Commune, Quang Uyen District, Cao Bang Province, northern Vietnam. Inhabited by the Nung An ethnic group, the village has produced handmade incense for over a century. It is notable for hillsides and courtyards covered with vibrant bundles of drying incense sticks, offering visitors an authentic view of rural craft heritage and seasonal production linked to Lunar New Year demand.
Visitors guide
Visitors can expect a small rural village set among hills and stilt houses where households make incense by hand. Courtyards, roadsides and hillsides are filled with large bundles of pink, red and brown incense sticks drying in the sun. Visitors can observe the process of splitting bamboo, dyeing, coating sticks with incense paste made from Thau Tau leaves and sawdust, and drying, and can walk between houses, interact with Nung An families, and purchase incense directly.
Key highlights
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Century-old handmade incense craft of the Nung An ethnic group
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Photogenic displays of colorful incense bundles drying in courtyards and on hillsides
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Opportunity to observe traditional incense-making steps from bamboo splitting to coating and drying
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Authentic rural village setting with stilt houses and mountain scenery
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Direct purchase of natural incense made from local Thau Tau wood and bamboo
History of Phia Thap Incense Village
Incense making in Phia Thap has been practiced for over 100 years by the Nung An ethnic group in Phuc Sen, passed down through generations as a household craft to supply incense for worship and festivals.
Culture & Context
The village preserves the traditional craft and cultural identity of the Nung An people, using natural local materials such as bamboo and Thau Tau wood. Incense holds important spiritual significance in Vietnamese ancestor worship and religious practice, with peak production before Lunar New Year.
Route
| By road |
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