Porcelain maker shows off

by Le Hung Vong

Rhymes with gauze: Porcelian vases by Minh Long No 1 are displayed at the HCM City showroom. — VNS Photo Ngoc Hai.

HCM CITY—Viet Nam's leading fine porcelain maker Minh Long No 1 yesterday opened a new showroom in HCM City that displays exclusive products it has made over the last five years.
The 600sq.m showroom at the Minh Long Tower Building on 17 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street in HCM City's District 3 displays more than 2,000 porcelain wares includings bowls, dishes, teapots, jewellery, artworks and souvenirs.

The showroom also showcases national souvenirs chosen as gifts to foreign heads of State by the Vietnamese Government.

Also on display are exquisite and exclusive artistic works of which there are fewer than five copies each.

Ly Ngoc Minh, general director of the Binh Duong Province-based porcelain producer, said at the opening ceremony that each artisan was able to make only one to three copies of these works per year.

While porcelain industries in other countries bake their coloured works at 850OC, Minh Long No 1 employs a technique that does it at 1,250OC, he said.

"This high temperature helps to keep the colour on porcelain unchanged and renders details of the painting," said Minh.

Minh Long has produced fewer than 200 porcelain works of this type in the past five years, with fewer than 10 copies of each work. Some of them were single pieces.

The works cost between VND40 million (US$2,000) and 300 million ($15,000) a piece, Minh said.

"We're not targeting any profit from this series of Minh Long products. We want to show that we can do, and do even better, what other porcelain makers around the world produce," he added.

As an indication of the care that is taken in making these products, the company has been unable to fulfil orders submitted for these works during a three-day promotion more than two years ago.

"These artistic works are the pride of not only Minh Long No 1, but also of Binh Duong Province's porcelain industry as well," he said.

Family tradition

Minh Long No 1 was founded in 1970 by Minh, whose family had been involved with the ceramic trade for generations.

Combining his passion for porcelain with the knowledge and experience of his ancestors, Minh dedicated his life to studying firing techniques and composition and spending time designing a unique style for Minh Long's products.

The company, which has a 120,000sq.m factory in Binh Duong's Thuan An District, is the first company in the country's porcelain industry to use a gas-fueled kiln for its production lines.

Minh Long's porcelain products, which have won over many connoisseurs and discriminating buyers, have been exported to the US, Europe and other Asian countries. — VNS

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Festival shows off Vietnam’s ceramics tradition

Minh Long 1 Co's ceramics showcase at its showroom in southern Binh Duong Province during the event

Photo: Minh Phat

Artisans from 19 craft villages and 50 businesses are taking part in the country’s first ceramics festival being held in the southern Binh Duong Province from September 2 to 9.

Vietnam Ceramics - Tradition, Identity and Development, held to mark National Day, September 2, will honor traditional handicrafts, especially ceramics, whose history dates back thousands of years. Vietnam is considered one of the cradles of world ceramic culture.

Businesses and individuals will have a chance to showcase their products at the festival which is also expected to boost tourism in the province by highlighting its cultural aspects.

Other handicrafts like lacquer works, wood sculpture, and glass drawing done in traditional craft villages in Binh Duong and other provinces will also be on show.

Visitors can watch artisans at work and take part in workshops where they can learn to make their own handicrafts.

There will be a seminar at which authorities, craftsmen, and others will assess the global status of Vietnamese ceramics and discuss measures to promote handicrafts at home and abroad.

An international ceramics exhibition will showcase the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and other ASEAN members.

There will be impressive pieces nominated for Vietnamese records in categories like the biggest, most difficult shape to make, and the most beautiful pattern.

A food court will dish out popular dishes and specialties of Binh Duong and other southeastern provinces.

Music shows will be held every night, with a show titled Thang Long-Vietnamese Ceramics on September 4 expected to be the highlight with fireworks and other spectacles.

There will be an exhibition of ancient ceramic collections, a ceramics show, and a tour of Binh Duong’s ceramic craft villages.

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Provincial TV stations seek new ways to do business

HCM CITY - In a competition with leading television stations like Viet Nam Television (VTV) and HCM City Television (HTV), stations in the provinces are trying to lure local viewers to their programmes.

Vinh Long Province's TV station, for example, has worked with Phuoc Sang Studios, Vietcomfilm and Thien Nam An, three private film companies in HCM City, to produce TV series and game shows.

The station has increased its broadcast time for Vietnamese films from two hours per day to more than seven hours per day.

It has broadcast Anh Em Nha Bac Si (Doctor Brothers) and Me Chong Nang Dau (Mother and Daughters-in-Law), both long-running TV series produced by the station and its partners, Vietcomfilm and Thien Nam An.

Phuoc Sang Studios, one of the country's leading private film companies, has decided to release its 30-part TV series, Lau Dai Tinh Ai (Love Castle), on Vinh Long Television channel this year.

The show will be broadcast on channels of TV stations in Binh Duong, Tien Giang, Kien Giang and Lam Dong provinces.

"We have worked with Vinh Long Television to produce or exchange documentary films and TV series that will be broadcast on the station's channels," Phuoc Sang, the company's director, said.

"We see a change here to develop our business," he said.

Vinh Long Television plans to make a large investment to build its studio that serves film projects, according to the station's representative.

The station also has a TV mobile unit to serve remote areas.

"Our staff, including young directors and producers, has also diversified its programmes to cover culture and society, education, health, entertainment and sports to help viewers better understand the country and the world," he said.

He added that his station was conducting research to identify ways to co-operate with private entertainment companies to produce more quality programmes.

Like Vinh Long Station, TV stations in provinces have invested several billion dong to build and upgrade their technology at their studios, in an aim to improve programmes and signal transmissions.

Binh Duong Television has worked with its partners to produce Nguoi Dep Binh Duong (Binh Duong's Miss Beauty), a 30-part TV series, featuring the province's history and people.

The film will be aired on BTV1 channel next month, hoping to attract local residents and many audiences in HCM City and other provinces such as Can Tho, Vinh Long and Dong Thap.

"Our film producers and TV stations should work together to increase the number of Vietnamese films aired to at least 30 per cent of all TV film screenings," said Phan To Hong Hai, exhibition division director of Thien Ngan (Galaxy) Studios, the country's first film company.

Thien Ngan has produced entertainment programmes to release on TV channels in Ha Noi, HCM City and other provinces. -VNS

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