Under the Project, Bac Ninh aims to ensure that all necessary conditions are met by 2040 and prepare a scientific dossier for submission to UNESCO for consideration, with a view to moving the craft of making Dong Ho folk woodblock printing from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at an early date.

International tourists learn about the craft of making Dong Ho folk woodblock printings at the home of Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Thi Oanh in Thuan Thanh ward.

The 2026–2035 period has been identified as a phase of urgent safeguarding and heritage revitalisation.

Its objectives include ensuring that 100% of artisans and other individuals who have made significant contributions to safeguarding, preserving and transmitting the craft are honoured and receive support in accordance with State regulations and the province’s specific policies.

At the same time, financial and material support policies will be implemented, including support in facilities, tools and materials used in the craft, as well as the establishment of clubs for artisans and heritage practitioners.

The province also aims to recognise more than 20 provincial-level artisans, 15 Meritorious Artisans, five People’s Artisans, and more than 100 practitioners with proficiency in Dong Ho folk woodblock printing.

It plans to establish three to five private enterprises and around 15 business households engaged in the craft; establish and strengthen the capacity of the craft village management board.

It will upgrade facilities, equipment and exhibition spaces at the Dong Ho Folk Woodblock Printing Conservation Centre; standardise printing techniques and production processes; conduct inventories, documentation and digitisation of craft-related materials; and apply scientific and technological advances to the preservation of printing blocks and prints.

A heritage communication and promotion strategy will also be developed and implemented.

The province will organise trade promotion programmes and diversify products to make them more suitable for modern life, gradually developing a cultural economy model that links folk woodblock printing villages with tourism.

It will develop two to three cultural heritage tours and itineraries centred on the Dong Ho Folk Woodblock Printing Conservation Centre in Thuan Thanh ward, with the aim of attracting around 10,000 visitors annually for sightseeing, hands-on experiences and shopping, including about 30% international visitors.

Developing the communication strategy to introduce and promote the craft of making Dong Ho folk woodblock printings.

To achieve these objectives, the project sets out nine groups of solutions, covering urgent safeguarding activities; research, creativity, product design and expansion of consumer markets; the management, promotion and display of Dong Ho folk woodblock prints.

The province will strengthen practitioners’ capacity and improve support policies for artisans; improve the management, safeguarding and promotion of the heritage’s values; preserve the craft’s cultural space and develop heritage tourism; apply digital transformation and conduct communication activities to raise public awareness and promote heritage education; strengthen international cooperation; and carry out inspection, monitoring and effectiveness assessments.

Dong Ho folk paintings promoted at Hue Ao Dai Week

BAC NINH - Bac Ninh Museum No. 2 is promoting the traditional craft of Dong Ho folk painting at the Hue Museum of Fine Arts in Hue City from July 5 to 10 as part of Hue Ao Dai Week 2026.

Couple saves 500-year-old Dong Ho painting art from extinction

Born in Bac Ninh province’s Dong Khe residential area half a millennium ago, Dong Ho painting hit its roaring peak in the 1940s, when 17 family clans churned out vividly coloured, all-natural works for spiritual, festive and daily rituals, especially the Lunar New Year

 

Dong Ho folk painting craft - UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

On December 9, 2025, in India, the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO adopted a decision inscribing Dong Ho folk painting craft on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

 

Ceremony marks UNESCO recognition of Dong Ho prints, Yen Tu complex

BAC NINH - Kinh Bac (Bac Ninh) is a land rich in historical depth and cultural heritage. Over centuries, it has nurtured a diverse cultural legacy integral to Vietnam’s identity. While Quan ho (love duet) folk singing symbolises the soul of the region, Dong Ho folk woodblock printings stands as a unique artistic heritage reflecting Vietnamese creativity and aesthetics.

 

Dong Ho folk paintings preserves breath of Vietnam’s villages

BAC NINH - Dong Ho folk paintings, known for their strong folk character and their reflection of the simple, rustic life of rural communities, have long been embedded in Vietnam’s history, poetry and cultural identity. Today, these traditional values continue to be preserved and promoted, as the craft is passed down through generations and expanded beyond village boundaries into various artistic fields, bringing renewed vitality to an art form that has endured many historical changes.