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Visitors to Phu Yen province can explore a traditional boatbuilding village

Following the release of the film “Yellow Flowers Upon Green Grass”, both Vietnamese and foreign travelers are discovering Phu Yen, a coastal province in Central Vietnam. Located just over 100km from Nha Trang, Phu Yen boasts breathtaking scenery, including the Da Dia rock formations, paddy fields by the tranquil Ba River, Vung Ro Bay, Xuan Dai Bay and Dai Lanh Lighthouse.

When visiting Phu Yen, an outing to the Dong Tac boatbuilding village is a must. The scale of production in this village will amaze visitors. Without the use of heavy industrial tools, craftsmen using handheld tools build sturdy vessels capable of surviving violent storms. The village’s boatbuilding traditions date back to the Nguyen Dynasty. Over the course of its history, the village has contributed to cementing the nation’s sovereignty.

Formerly called Dong Tac Village and now known as Phu Dong Ward, the boatbuilding zone lies 6km from Tuy Hoa City. The ward’s boatbuilding workshops can build and fix vessels with a capacity of up to 200 horsepower. Phu Dong’s boatbuilders also repair and maintain vessels that have been at sea for long periods. The locals begin to learn their craft as youngsters, mastering axes and chisels, and joining their peers in sailing boats. They are both fishermen and boatbuilders, who earn their living from the sea. Previously, the village produced mainly sampans, a typical boat in Central Vietnam that bears cultural influences from insular Malaysia combined with sailing techniques from the Eastern Mediterranean; West Indian Ocean and Southern China.

In ship historian Nguyen Thanh Loi’s “South Central Sampan Boats and Southern Dugouts” he recorded Westerners’ admiration for Vietnamese sampan boats in the 18th and 19th centuries. These boats were made of precious timbers sourced from the jungles of the Truong Son Range. A crucial feature of building a seaworthy sampan is the use of bamboo fibers soaked in oil from the Dau Rai tree to seal the craft’s timbers.

With simple tools like axes, saws, chisels and drills, the craftsmen Phu Dong produce quality vessels that can remain at sea for a month before heading ashore. While most of the labor intensive jobs are performed by men, women perform the crucial step of planing of bamboo into fibers to seal the boat’s timbers. The bamboo fibers are mixed with Cay Dau Rai oil and ground clam shells and pressed between boards to ensure that the boat is waterproof. In the past, Avicennia sap was also used to make the boat more solid.

Vessels from Phu Dong are known up and down the coast. This region’s shipbuilders have contributed to Vietnam’s maritime prowess.