The famous incense village of Hue
Located on the tourist route of Tu Duc Tomb and Vong Canh Hill, Thuy Xuan incense village easily attracts visitors from all over the world. Thanks to its convenient location, Thuy Xuan incense village is more widely known, becoming an unmissable destination when traveling to Hue.
According to the artisans in Thuy Xuan incense village, the incense making profession here has been preserved and developed for 700 years of history, since the Nguyen Dynasty. Thuy Xuan incense village is considered an indispensable part of Hue's cultural picture, a place that preserves long-standing traditional values and contributes to creating a unique identity for the ancient capital.
Thuy Xuan incense village is more widely known, becoming an unmissable destination when traveling to Hue.
In ancient times, Thuy Xuan incense village was the place to supply incense to the royal court, mandarins and people in Thuan Hoa and Phu Xuan areas. Fragrant incense bundles were meticulously handcrafted from natural ingredients, carrying the distinctive flavor of Hue's land and sky.
Despite the ups and downs of time, Hue incense village still stands tall and proud, preserving and developing the traditional flame. From generation to generation, Hue incense artisans put all their heart into every step of making incense.
Despite the ups and downs of time, Hue incense village still stands tall, preserving and developing the traditional flame.
The first secret that makes Thuy Xuan incense special is the ingredients. To get fragrant incense sticks, the people here have painstakingly selected premium agarwood, combined with precious natural ingredients such as cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom, pine buds in a secret ratio. In addition, wild grapefruit peel powder, dried grapefruit flowers, eucalyptus, cinnamon... are also used to create a complete, light but long-lasting scent.
Understanding the Vietnamese mentality of preferring completeness and luck, the people of Thuy Xuan village paid special attention to the quality of incense when burning. To avoid the case of the incense being extinguished or burning abnormally, they chose old bamboo as the core of the incense. This material helps the incense burn evenly, spreading a gentle fragrance and creating a feeling of purity and peace for the user.
Fragrant incense bundles are meticulously handcrafted from natural ingredients, carrying the distinctive flavors of Hue's land and sky.
Moreover, the meticulousness and ingenuity of the artisans also contribute to the appeal of Thuy Xuan incense. Each stage, from selecting raw materials, mixing incense powder, rolling incense, drying incense to packaging, is carried out carefully and manually, ensuring the best quality. Thanks to that, each Thuy Xuan incense stick is not only an item used for worship but also a delicate work of art, bearing the cultural mark of the people of Hue.
Unlike traditional incense that only has brown and red colors, visitors will easily come across in Thuy Xuan incense village colorful bundles of incense with the incense base dyed in many colors: purple, yellow, blue, pink... Each bundle of incense is stacked on top of each other, spreading out like brilliant flowers under the sunlight, creating an extremely eye-catching scene.
Unlike traditional incense which only has brown and red colors, visitors will easily find in Thuy Xuan incense village colorful bundles of incense with incense bases dyed in many colors.
The combination of the colorful beauty and the friendliness and hospitality of the local people has created a strong attraction for tourists. Coming to Thuy Xuan incense village, visitors are not only immersed in the fragrant space of incense but also have the opportunity to capture sparkling photos like in magazines. Every small corner of Thuy Xuan incense village is a perfect background for "virtual life" photos.
Every corner of Thuy Xuan incense village is a perfect background for "virtual life" photos.
The village woman with a kind heart
My impression of Thuy Xuan is the colorful bundles of incense, spreading a gentle fragrance throughout the space. Each bundle of incense is meticulously handcrafted, showing the dedication and talent of the artisan. However, what holds me back are not those beautiful bundles of incense, but the gentle eyes, warm smile and meaningful story of a woman over 70, affectionately called by everyone as Me Tuyet.
Two years ago, on a gloomy rainy afternoon in Hue in August, I had the chance to meet Mrs. Tuyet and her warm incense shop. At that time, I was struggling to find an incense shop to preserve the beautiful moments of Hue, suddenly, a gentle voice rang out: "My child, come inside my house to take shelter from the rain". Mrs. Tuyet's sincere invitation was like a warm ray of sunshine penetrating my soul, dispelling the cold of the rain.
Mrs. Tuyet's incense shop is located at 69 Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street, Hue City.
The image of Mrs. Tuyet leaves an impression on many tourists when they come to Thuy Xuan incense village.
Mrs. Tuyet's house is located at the end of the incense village, and is also the smallest incense shop in the village. Although this place is simple and plain, it has a rustic, peaceful beauty, typical of the Vietnamese countryside. It is not called a house, but it is just four brick walls that have been plastered with lime and covered with corrugated iron. In front is a porch to protect from the sun and rain. The small house has no kitchen or bedroom. Every day, Mrs. Tuyet puts her goods out on the porch, and inside the house, she puts a few souvenirs for tourists to buy as gifts. At night, she cleans up the shop and spreads out a mat to rest right here.
Although Ms. Tuyet’s small house is simple, it radiates a strangely warm light. Sitting and chatting with her, I got to listen to the meaningful story about the journey of spreading love that she has been silently carrying out for many years.
Each bundle of incense is stacked on top of each other, spreading out like brilliant flowers under the sunlight, creating an extremely eye-catching scene.
Me Tuyet shared that, up to now, she has been involved in charity work for nearly 10 years. During that time, she has always been busy taking care of her small incense shop, saving every penny to help cancer patients at Hue Central Hospital and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Me Tuyet recalls the fate that brought her to the path of charity work. 10 years ago, she and her close friend went to Hue Central Hospital to receive the results of a cancer test. When she heard that she was lucky enough not to have the terrible disease, her friend burst into tears and hugged her in extreme joy.
Mrs. Tuyet's house is located at the end of the incense village, and is also the smallest incense shop in the village.
However, in that happy moment, her eyes suddenly turned to the cancer patients around her. She saw eyes full of worry, despair, and fragile hope. In particular, the image of a young mother holding her 5-year-old child with corneal cancer was deeply imprinted in her mind. The child's eyes looked up, full of pain and despair, her sobbing because of the pain made Mrs. Tuyet's heart ache every time.
Seeing that heartbreaking scene, Mrs. Tuyet suddenly woke up. Her joy suddenly disappeared, replaced by pity and concern for the unfortunate fates. She told herself that she had to do something to help cancer patients, to bring them hope and faith in life.
Inside the house, Mrs. Tuyet placed some souvenirs for visitors to buy as gifts.
Since the day she decided to help cancer patients, whenever she saved enough money, she carefully wrapped small gifts, each containing an envelope containing 100,000 VND and sometimes accompanied by milk cakes, and sent them directly to the children with cancer. Her charity journey did not stop at the children. She also used a portion of the money to help cancer patients in especially difficult circumstances, lonely, and without support.
Over the years, witnessing the unannounced passing of people suffering from this terrible disease, she cherished every moment more and more and tried to help them more. She thought to herself: “If I delay this time, there may not be a next time.”
Up to now, Ms. Tuyet has been involved in volunteer work for nearly 10 years.
Many people sympathized with her old age and advised her to take time to take care of herself. However, she just smiled kindly and quietly continued on the path she had chosen. At the age of over 70, she also suffered from joint pain, a common disease in the elderly. However, she only spent a small amount of money to buy medicine for herself, the rest of the money was spent on cancer patients.
Meeting Mrs. Tuyet again after two years, I was happy to still see her small figure and her warm, sincere and enthusiastic smile. Although I know that with the small amount of money I sent, I can only contribute a little effort to help her continue on the path of volunteering to help cancer patients.
Me Tuyet shared: "I don't expect anything in return, I just hope that cancer patients can continue treatment and have more hope to fight this deadly disease."
The combination of colorful beauty and the friendliness and hospitality of the local people has created a strong attraction for tourists.
