The silk lanterns that color Hoi An's nights. The first person to create a "foldable" version that fits in a suitcase was the master craftsman Huynh Van Ba, who is over 90 years old. Sparked by a single remark from an Australian tourist, the technique he developed by applying the mechanisms of umbrellas and fans is still being passed down to his son and apprentices today.
The craftsman who first made the foldable lantern
Huynh Van Ba is officially recognized as the first person in Hoi An to make foldable lanterns. Born in Tam Binh, Quang Nam Province, he has spent most of his life in Hoi An. He originally worked as a weaver at a large bamboo-craft cooperative, making blinds, vases, and baskets. He began making lanterns in the 1990s, when tourists were starting to increase in Hoi An, and at first it was said to be a side job.
An invention born from a tourist's remark
The foldable lantern was born from an encounter with an Australian tourist who wanted to buy a lantern but was troubled because it wouldn't fit in a suitcase. Ba spent about half a year on trial and error, applying the mechanisms of umbrellas and paper fans. By drilling holes at both ends of the bamboo strips and fastening them to a pivot, he completed a prototype that could fold. This structure, easy to carry home even when bought on a trip, transformed the standard Hoi An souvenir.
Lantern-making is divided into two processes, building the frame and applying the fabric, and involves 10 main steps in all. Bamboo and silk are used, with the silk sourced from Ha Dong village. Each painstaking step is infused with the intuition of a craftsman honed over many years.
Foldable lantern: the basics
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Huynh Van Ba (resides in Hoi An, over 90 years old) |
| Development period | Prototyped in the 1990s, completed in about half a year |
| Inspiration | The folding mechanism of umbrellas and paper fans |
| Material | Bamboo (frame) + silk (from Ha Dong village) |
| Workshop | Run by the family on Phan Dinh Phung Street |
A craft passed down
- The technique has been passed on to his son Huynh Van Trung and many apprentices
- The family maintains a workshop on Phan Dinh Phung Street and continues making them to this day
- The foldable structure is carried home by travelers around the world as a Hoi An souvenir
Impact for readers in Japan
Hoi An lanterns are a classic Vietnamese souvenir. The foldable kind fits in a suitcase while keeping the texture of the silk, with little worry about breakage. It also blends easily into Japanese homes, and can be put to practical use as indirect lighting in an entryway or bedroom. There's a story in the way an invention that solved a single inconvenience still lives on as a travel keepsake.
Hoi An is also highly regarded as an ancient town.Selected as one of the world's 51 most beautiful cities,amid its townscape, lantern-making forms the core of its tourism. If you want to enjoy a hands-on experience,pottery wheel and lantern-making at Thanh Ha pottery villageis also worth a look.
A ripple effect on traditional crafts
The idea of turning a craftsman's handwork into a "souvenir you can take home" runs through Vietnamese traditional crafts as a whole.As with our guide to Hanoi silk souvenirs,how you translate materials and techniques into travel keepsakes is what supports the transmission of a craft. Ba's foldable lantern is passed down as a fine example of this.
Summary
Huynh Van Ba's foldable lantern was born from a tourist's single remark and changed the conventional wisdom of Hoi An souvenirs. The technique has been passed on to the next generation and is still made in the family workshop today. When you visit Hoi An, you'll want to pick up a lamp that holds half a century of story.
