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Sunday, February 1, 2026

Piggy bank craft through the lens

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By Ngo Vinh Phu
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For many years, the piggy bank has been a beloved household symbol throughout Vietnam. More than just a simple toy, these charming clay banks act as a child’s first secure safe and help parents teach the values of thrift and patience. The origin of this craft is Lai Thieu in HCMC (formerly Thu Dau Mot Town, Binh Duong Province), the largest production center supplying these iconic items to the entire South.

In recent years, to safeguard the urban environment, traditional wood-fired kilns have been moved further away to areas like Thuan An. However, the core of the craft remains in Lai Thieu, where nearly a hundred workshops focus on the detailed stages of decoration and finishing. Here, dusty terracotta forms are turned into vibrant, sparkling symbols of luck and prosperity before being shipped to markets far and wide.

Inside a traditional piggy bank workshop in Lai Thieu
Freshly baked terracotta piggy banks straight from the kiln
Smoothing the surface with sandpaper before the painting process begins
The decoration stage: This meticulous work provides a flexible secondary source of income for many local part-time workers

A wholesale distributor visits a workshop to scout for new designs
Transporting finished products to the local market
A variety of colorful piggy banks displayed at a wholesale shop in Lai Thieu
Loading the clay banks onto riverboats at Lai Thieu wharf, destined for the provinces of the Mekong Delta

 

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