Mang Thít

Mang Thít, in Vĩnh Long, lies where canals meet the Cổ Chiên river, a branch of the Mekong that deposits fine clay along its banks. From around the early twentieth century families began to build kilns here to fire bricks and roof tiles for the growing towns of the delta. Boats could bring clay in and carry fired brick out along the same waterways. The kilns multiplied until they stretched for kilometres along the water, and the area became known as the kingdom of kilns.

Times have been hard for the kilns. Factory brick and tighter rules on smoke have closed many of them, and some now stand empty with plants growing on their domes. Others have turned from building brick to red pottery: flowerpots, jars, and decorative pieces sold through the delta and abroad. Where a kiln is working, the stokers still feed it with rice husk, the cheap and plentiful waste of the paddy, and a firing can take weeks.

With Mang Thít red pottery, look for an even, warm terracotta colour without black scorch patches unless they are deliberate. Tap a piece: well-fired clay rings clearly; a dull thud suggests it was underfired and will crumble in frost or rain. Walls should be fairly even in thickness. Hand-thrown or hand-built pieces show the slight irregularities of the maker, and the best have a fine, smooth skin from the river clay.