Tho Ha Ancient Village

Tho Ha Ancient Village is a historic riverside settlement on an islet of the Cau River in Van Ha Commune, Viet Yen District, Bac Ninh Province, about 50 km northeast of Hanoi. Known for its well-preserved northern Vietnamese village architecture, the village features centuries-old houses, narrow brick alleys, the historic Tho Ha Communal House and Pagoda, and traditional crafts of rice paper and pottery. It offers insight into Red River Delta rural heritage and Quan Ho folk culture.

Visitors can expect a quiet river-island village accessed by a short ferry crossing over the Cau River. Inside, narrow brick-paved alleys lead past centuries-old tube houses with wooden frames, moss-covered walls and tiled roofs. Key sites include Tho Ha Communal House and Tho Ha Pagoda with traditional architecture and wood carvings. Visitors can observe local families making rice paper and rice wine, see pottery remnants, and experience daily rural life, small temples, ancient gates and riverside views.

Tho Ha is a centuries-old village dating back to at least the 15th-17th centuries, historically renowned as a pottery-making centre supplying ceramics across northern Vietnam. Its communal house and pagoda reflect Le and Nguyen dynasty architecture and the village's prosperity from craft trade along the Cau River.

The village preserves typical Red River Delta rural culture, traditional architecture and craft traditions of rice paper and rice wine. It lies within the Quan Ho folk song cultural region of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang, recognized for intangible cultural heritage, and maintains communal house and pagoda festivals and village customs.