Art seals- an unique feature of ancient Hoi An

Although Phu has a university degree in building, he is interested in sculpture. So he decided to move to Hoi An, and opened a small craft store named 'Pho Reu' to start his career of carving travel seals.

8 years has passed, and in a corner of Tran Phu street, the image of the young man using knives to artistically carve small seals day in day out has become so familiar to both locals and tourists.

Phu said, each seal has its ownshape and symbol as well as the personality and thinking of the owner. Seals are simply made but they bear their own uniqueness and elegance.

Each seal with its own meaning attracting lots of tourists in Hoi An.

Travelers started to collect travel seals 20 years ago. At first, only a few locals with their knowledge of old Chinese and some tourists from Japan and South Korea bought and collected travel seals. Later, collecting travel seals has become a trend and considered a unique and stylish hobby.

Talking about his products, Phu said: Each seal contains two main types of carving: engraving and embossing. However, they are different in shape and carving technique. Choosing type of carving is the most important phase, requiring meticulousness of sculptor. Besides, seals must be produced from jackfruit wood, which has its durable and flexible features and is hard to be broken while carving.

Every day, the 'Pho Reu' store receives many Vietnamese and foreign tourists. Normally, Vietnamese tourists choose Zodiac animals, Horoscope signs or personal symbols for their seals. International tourists tend to have seals with landscape, Vietnamese cultural features such as lotus, Cau temple, cyclo, Aodai. A seal will normally be finished in 20 minutes.

Truong Thi Khanh Chi, a customer from Northern Vietnam said: ''These seals bear part of the national tradition and are so useful. We can use them instead of our signatures on postcards, letters and books, or present our friends as gifts.''

Over the years, the 'Pho Reu' store run by Phu has become one of the-visit-worthy places in Hoi An.