Nha Xa silk village (Moc Nam commune, Duy Tien district, Ha Nam province) lies quietly on the left bank of the Red River at the foot of Yen Lenh bridge connecting the two provinces, Yen Hung Yen and Ha Nam. For centuries, the famous brand Nha Xa silk is only ranked after Van Phuc silk (Hanoi). The smooth and colorful silk is made from natural raw materials with a lot of experience and know-how gathering from many lives. Nha Xa silk village today is very different, but the beauty of the silk products here remains the same, still beautiful and attractive enough to let anyone across have to stop to see.
The beauty of Nha Xa silk used to make the merchants and tourists so passionate with softness and seduction that they will stay when they pass this place. According to legend, the father of Nha Xa craft village is Tran Khanh Du, an eminent general in Tran Dynasty. During a cruise on the Red River, he saw a beautiful land along the river, then, he arrived to see and instructed people of Nha Xa to catch trout fish to breed, to plant mulberry trees, to raise silkworms and to weave silk. The weaving silk craft of Nha Xa also formed that time. Through 700 years of ups and downs, people of Nha Xa from old to young know reeling, and silk weaving. All villagers are grateful to Tran Khanh Du who brought the job for the village. They honored and worshiped him in the temple of Nha Xa village.
To get a perfect silk product, from initial production to final product, must go through various stages. They are the stages of inputting silk cord, reeling, putting through weaving machines, bleaching, dyeing, and drying. Each stage has its own way, very sophisticated. It requires skilled workers to have experience, keen observation, and the most attention. Perhaps, because of this meticulousness and attention, Nha Xa silk products seem to have never been "lost points" compared to other traditional villages.
Nha Xa silk products diverse in type and quality. The brocade, smooth silk, silk with patterns have a variety of designs and colors. Linen is a favored with a number of different types, thick or thin. From that fabric products, Nha Xa artisans also create many beautiful and colorful products such as towels and shirts. People of Nha Xa village also produce specialized items. These are products that are set separately, characterize the essence of the village and nowhere can reproduce.
Although the country has gone through many changes, the silk sheets still maintain the beauty of the village. Time cannot fade away Nha Xa silk because there are still people who love traditional craft and working hard daily to preserve the colors bearing the beauty and the spirit of Nha Xa village, then introduce to friends all over the world the beauty of the motherland - the beauty of Vietnam.
During the trip of visiting Nha Xa village, walking on the village road, you can hear bustling sounds of weaving machines in each house from the beginning until the end of the village. Moreover, tourists can observe the process of weaving silk and see beautiful products when completing, feel the talent and ingenuity of the people here as well as to have a better understanding of the cultural and daily life of a traditional craft village in Viet Nam.
