Not only famous as the cradle of the renowned traditional pork roll (Vietnamese pork sausage) craft, Uoc Le is also likened to a “living museum” of Northern Vietnamese village culture, with its ancient village gate, solemn communal house and pagodas, and moss-covered houses bearing the marks of time.
Ancient Architecture – The Soul of a Thousand Years
The first highlight that leaves an impression on every visitor coming to Uoc Le is the majestic ancient village gate, built during the Mac Dynasty (16th century). The gate is a unique and imposing architectural work with deep symbolic meaning. It features a vaulted arch shape, 6 meters high and 12 meters wide, with a two-story, eight-roof structure, built of red baked bricks, resembling an ancient citadel gate. At the top is a watchtower, once used as a guard post, now serving as a flag-hanging point during festivals.
Uoc Le village gate. Photo: Internet
In front of the gate are three Han characters “Uoc Le Gate” in relief, implying that a gentleman, no matter how learned or talented, must uphold proper etiquette. Inside the gate, three characters “Thieu cao dai” are engraved in relief, implying that villagers must live with virtue, pursue education, and bring honor to future generations.
On the gate tower is the large inscription “Beautiful Customs Worthy of Recognition,” a prestigious award given by Emperor Tu Duc to the villagers in 1851, recognizing the beautiful customs of Uoc Le village worthy of emulation.
On both sides of the gate, ancient couplets are preserved, conveying life philosophies, advising people to maintain etiquette, respect ancestors, and live harmoniously with the village. The Uoc Le village gate is not only a symbol of protecting the village boundaries but also a gateway into a unique cultural space – where time seems to settle in every brick, house, and banyan tree…
Village Space – A Vibrant Cultural Picture
Through the village gate, visitors seem to step into a serene, moss-covered space, full of the traditional Northern Vietnamese atmosphere. Narrow alleys paved with slanted bricks, faded bee-hive stone walls, and roofs tinted by time paint a picture of a quiet countryside. On both sides of the streets stand over 100-year-old houses, featuring traditional architecture.
The Uoc Le communal house – a national historical relic – is located right beside the village gate. It is the place to worship the village’s tutelary deity and the traditional pork roll craft ancestors, where major rituals and traditional village festivals take place. Opposite it is the ancient market, open only for a few hours each morning, but serving as a community hub that preserves the rhythm of village life. Together with the system of ancient wells, old pagodas, family temples, waterways, and stone bridges, these elements create the distinctive charm of Uoc Le.
Parading more than 100kg of cinnamon pork sausage at the Uoc Le Traditional Traditional pork roll Craft Village Festival 2025. Photo: Internet
Uoc Le has a traditional pork roll craft that has been famous for hundreds of years. Although many artisans have established their careers elsewhere, during festivals or ancestral commemorations, descendants from across the region return to the village, gather by the communal house to revisit traditions, and rekindle the craft. The villagers have a profound awareness of preserving and promoting traditional values.
Every year, on the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month, the Uoc Le Traditional Traditional pork roll Craft Village Festival is held to bring villagers, distant descendants, and tourists together, amplifying the opportunity to share the flavor of Uoc Le’s traditional pork roll with guests from everywhere.
This year, the festival takes place on the 11th and 12th of the 3rd lunar month (corresponding to April 8-9, 2025), featuring diverse and new activities along with village market spaces and cultural experiences. The village festival is an occasion for every Uoc Le resident to deepen their love for the craft and to spread the cultural culinary excellence of Vietnam.
In the context of many ancient villages gradually fading due to modern development, Uoc Le stands out as a bright example of harmony between preservation and development. It is not only a unique cultural space of Hanoi but also a precious asset in the flow of national cultural heritage.
Mai Phuong