Hanoi incense village glows on Apple’s Instagram account

The photograph by Vietnamese lensman Tran Tuan Viet was taken in the Quang Phu Cau Village, Ung Hoa District on the outskirts of Hanoi. The village is famous for its traditional vocation of making incense sticks.

The woman, wearing a conical hat, is surrounded by bunches of bright red incense sticks that look like huge flowers in bloom.

A woman, wearing a conical hat, is surrounded by bunches of bright red incense sticks that look like huge flowers in bloom in Quang Phu Cau Village in Hanoi. Photo by Tran Tuan Viet

“Incense plays an important role in Vietnamese life as it is considered a sacred bridge to connect the visible life of human beings to the world of heaven, earth and gods. As common as this scene is, I tried to capture from in a different perspective,” Viet said.

His photo has garnered over 117,000 likes.

Quang Phu Cau is home to 300 households that have been making incense sticks for generations.

The village is at its busiest in the run up to Tet, the Lunar New Year, Vietnam’s biggest and most important festival. Incense is lit at home and pagodas in great numbers on this occasion.

The village’s products are also exported to India, China, Malaysia and several other countries. On average, it uses around 200 tons of materials to produce 50 tons of incense a month.