TL;DR: Vietnamese Tết paintings are not a single school but several schools that differ markedly in printing technique, materials and subject matter. Đông Hồ prints woodblocks on điệp paper, Hàng Trống prints the outline then hand-paints on dó paper, Kim Hoàng prints the black outline on red paper then adds dabs of colour by hand, and làng Sình prints woodblocks on dó paper, bound tightly to the worship life of Huế. Today each school faces a very different state of preservation, and Kim Hoàng in particular was lost for about seven decades before being revived from 2016.
How many main lines of Vietnamese Tet paintings are there and where do they differ?
Vietnamese Tet paintings are not a single line but a group of lines that differ fairly clearly in printing technique, materials and purpose of use. Six representative lines of folk painting were once shown together in an exhibition at the Temple of Literature, Quoc Tu Giam (Hanoi) in 2018: Kim Hoang paintings, Hang Trong paintings, Dong Ho paintings, glass paintings, cloth-wrapped paintings and Lang Sinh paintings[5]. Of these, four lines are tied directly to the Tet painting market in the Northern Delta and Central Vietnam: Dong Ho, Hang Trong, Kim Hoang and Lang Sinh.
What these lines share is that all use woodblocks to print, all serve decoration and spiritual needs at Tet, and all once flourished and then declined. The differences lie in which line prints entirely from woodblocks, which prints outlines then hand-paints, what paper is used, where colours come from, and what themes the subjects revolve around.
| Painting line | Main technique | Paper and colour materials | Typical subjects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dong Ho (Bac Ninh) | Full woodblock printing, one block per colour | Do paper coated with diep (shell powder), colours from natural materials | Greeting paintings, daily-life and custom paintings |
| Hang Trong (Hanoi) | Only the outline is printed from a carved block, then colours are painted by hand | Do paper; harmonies of blue, pink, green, red, orange, yellow | Worship, Tet, story and social-scene paintings |
| Kim Hoang (Hanoi) | Black outline printed from a single block, then colours dabbed on by hand | Red paper, hong dieu paper or yellow "tau" paper; Chinese ink and colours of natural origin | Rooster and pig paintings, Ong Cong Ong Tao; a poem inscribed in the corner |
| Lang Sinh (Hue) | Outline and main colour printed from the woodblock, remaining colours filled in by hand | Do paper or moc paper coated with diep, natural colours; many households now use industrial paper and pigments | Worship paintings: figures (the mang, bon mang sets), objects, animals |
How are Dong Ho paintings made and why are they considered the representative line?
Dong Ho paintings are made entirely by woodblock printing, with each colour a separate carved block, printed over one another in order to form the complete picture. The craft in Dong Ho village, now part of Dong Khe quarter, Thuan Thanh ward, Bac Ninh province, is recorded as about 500 years old[7]. According to old documents cited, the folk painting craft formed in Dong Ho in the 16th century, and by 1945 as many as 17 clans still pursued the traditional painting craft with many workshops in the village[8].
The material that gives Dong Ho paintings their distinctive look is diep paper, made from do paper coated with a layer of shell powder that creates a shimmering light, combined with colours taken from nature, such as white from scallop shells, yellow from pagoda-tree flowers, red from sappan wood, blue from indigo leaves and black from bamboo-leaf charcoal[5]. The subjects of Dong Ho paintings are very rich, serving the spiritual, greeting and daily-life needs of the people, especially at each Lunar New Year, with bright colours and unique materials from nature[7].
The most brilliant period of Dong Ho painting is recorded as the 1940s, when the village had as many as 17 clans taking part in production, creating a large number of paintings diverse in subject[7]. After 1945, the craft faced the risk of fading, and many families switched to making votive paper goods[7][8].
How do Hang Trong paintings differ from Dong Ho paintings?
Hang Trong paintings differ from Dong Ho paintings in that only the black outline is printed with carved blocks, after which the artisan hand-paints pigments onto each picture, so each painting can have different shades. This is a line tied to the streets of Hanoi, and according to painter Phan Ngoc Khue, before 1945 Hanoi had many painting shops and painting guilds that carved blocks, printed and painted in the street quarters[6].
A notable point is that Hang Trong paintings include not only Tet paintings but also a body of worship paintings and story paintings. Painter Phan Ngoc Khue, a long-time collector of folk paintings, once introduced a set of Hang Trong story paintings nearly a hundred years old, showing that this line has subject areas less known than the familiar greeting and worship paintings[6].
Artisan Le Dinh Nghien is recorded as having 62 years of making Hang Trong paintings, showing that the craft still has followers even though the number of artisans has fallen greatly compared with its flourishing time[1].
What is special about Kim Hoang paintings and why were they once lost?
Kim Hoang paintings stand out for being printed on a red paper background, so they are also called Red paintings, and were once famous throughout Thang Long. Kim Hoang village lies on the edge of the city, west of the old Thang Long citadel, before July 2025 in Van Canh commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi[2]. The newspaper Phap luat Viet Nam writes that the line first appeared in the time of King Le Hy Tong, when the Kim Hoang communal house was built with the horizontal plaque Luong Bang hoi dinh, marking the merger of the two villages Kim Bang and Hoang Bang into Kim Hoang village[2]; the introduction to the 2018 exhibition instead records that Kim Hoang painting took shape in the second half of the 18th century[5].
Kim Hoang painting combines the techniques of the Dong Ho and Hang Trong lines: the artisan uses a single carved block to print the black outline on the paper, then dabs on the colours by hand, so each picture looks different even when printed from the same block[2][5]. According to Phap luat Viet Nam, the colours are not aniline pigments but Chinese ink and colours of natural origin mixed with buffalo-hide glue, such as white from gypsum, red from red ochre and black from rice-straw ash; a poem is also inscribed in the corner of the picture[2]. The paintings were loved for their creativity while suiting farmers both in aesthetics and in price[2]. According to the article, nearly a hundred years ago, at each Tet every lane of Kim Hoang village had lively sounds of laughter and of tapping soft brick, and red paintings bearing the Kim Hoang name followed the carrying poles of villagers to every place in the Doai region[2].
According to the article, in 1915 a great flood swept away most of the printing blocks and the craft declined from then on, with only a few households left; tastes shifted to Hang Trong paintings, Kim Hoang paintings could not compete on price with Dong Ho paintings, and after 1945 no artisan followed the craft any longer[2]. Village elders recount that by the late 1950s the remaining blocks were chopped up for firewood during the campaign against superstition[2]. In recent years, researchers such as Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa and Dr. Trinh Sinh have been reconnecting the broken span of history to bring this line back into modern life[2].
How do Lang Sinh paintings differ from the northern lines?
Lang Sinh paintings differ from the northern lines in that they are tied closely to the spiritual cultural life and worship beliefs of Hue, rather than to purely Tet decoration needs. Lang Sinh, whose literary name is Lai An village, which a report from early 2025 places in Duong No ward, Thuan Hoa district, Hue city (the district level was abolished from July 2025), has a history of more than 400 years of folk painting[3]. The painting craft in Lang Sinh is thought to have appeared not long after the village was founded, and the village's founding ancestor also came from Bac Ninh[3].
Because it shares an origin with Dong Ho paintings, Lang Sinh painting has many features similar to Dong Ho painting such as the woodblock printing method, the use of do paper or moc paper coated with diep, and natural materials for colours[3]. However, the purpose of Lang Sinh paintings is more clearly religious, serving the worship and cầu an (prayer for peace and safety) needs of the people of Hue[3].
According to artisan Ky Huu Phuoc, the ninth-generation heir of the painting village's founding ancestor, the painting craft in Lang Sinh has existed for hundreds of years[3]. At each Tet, the painting atmosphere in Lang Sinh becomes livelier to serve the needs of the people[3].
What ups and downs has Lang Sinh painting gone through?
The newspaper Thanh Nien records the woodblock painting craft of Lang Sinh as more than 500 years old, which differs from the figure of more than 400 years given by the Vietnam News Agency; according to the Ky clan genealogy cited in the article, Mr. Ky Huu Hoa brought the craft of woodblock paper paintings to Lang Sinh and is regarded as the founder of the craft[4]. Artisan Ky Huu Phuoc is recorded as the only person of the clan still persevering in keeping the woodblock painting craft of Lang Sinh[4].
Mr. Phuoc recounts that in the years after 1975, makers of worship paintings were regarded as spreading superstition and their woodblocks were confiscated and chopped up for firewood; he secretly dug a tunnel to bury the carved blocks, went down at night to make paintings by lamplight and carried them away to sell, and so kept one set of printing blocks, which he later donated to the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre[4].
What is the current state of Vietnamese Tet painting lines today?
The current state of Vietnamese Tet painting lines today is very different: Dong Ho still has two clans in the craft and is receiving preservation support, Hang Trong has very few artisans left, Kim Hoang was broken and is being revived, while Lang Sinh still maintains the craft thanks to community tourism.
For Dong Ho paintings, after 1945 the craft faced the risk of fading when no one came to buy paintings, and households switched to making votive paper goods[8]. Today Dong Ho village has only two clans making paintings: the family of artisan Nguyen Huu Sam (died 2017) and the family of artisan Nguyen Dang Che[8]. Artisan Nguyen Dang Che has collected and sought to buy back the woodblocks of families that left the craft[8].
In December 2025, at a session in New Delhi (India), UNESCO inscribed the Dong Ho folk painting craft on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding[7]. The family of artisan Nguyen Huu Hoa and his wife, Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Thi Oanh, still persistently preserve and promote the Dong Ho folk painting craft[7].
For Hang Trong paintings, the number of artisans still in the craft is very small. Artisan Le Dinh Nghien has spent 62 years making Hang Trong paintings[1]; according to painter Phan Ngoc Khue, his is the only family still in the craft, mainly painting over existing prints, while no one composes new woodblocks any more[6]. Painter Phan Ngoc Khue continues to collect and introduce precious sets of Hang Trong paintings, helping preserve documents about this line[6].
For Kim Hoang paintings, after about seven decades of being lost, the Kim Hoang painting restoration project was launched in 2016 by collector Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa, director of the Hanoi Ceramics Museum, together with researchers, painters and artisans; after three years the group had restored 33 woodblock designs and 19 hand-painted designs, and according to the 2021 article three people in the village were pursuing the line[2]. The 2018 exhibition Vietnamese Folk Paintings and Applications introduced applied products using decorative motifs of the Kim Hoang line, with more than 300 entries from children in Hanoi[5]. This is a new direction to bring folk paintings back into contemporary life.
For Lang Sinh paintings, local authorities are actively carrying out craft transmission as well as promotion and preservation tied to community tourism development[3]. The two reports give different numbers of households still making paintings: more than 40 according to Thanh Nien at the end of 2023[4], and more than 20 according to the Vietnam News Agency in early 2025[3].
In short, what should be remembered when distinguishing Vietnamese Tet painting lines?
The key point for distinguishing Vietnamese Tet painting lines is the printing technique and the paper material. Dong Ho prints entirely with woodblocks on diep paper, Hang Trong prints outlines then hand-paints on do paper, Kim Hoang prints outlines on a red paper background, while Lang Sinh prints woodblocks on do paper and serves mainly religious needs. As for the current state, Dong Ho and Lang Sinh still maintain the craft, Hang Trong has very few artisans left, while Kim Hoang was broken and is being revived. Understanding these differences not only helps distinguish the lines but also reveals the diversity of Vietnamese folk art through the flow of history.
