Long before tourist cameras arrived, round woven boats were already doing serious work along Vietnam's central coast. The thúng chai — Vietnam's iconic circular bamboo basket boat — has survived colonial-era taxation, the rise of industrial fishing, and the passing of generations, and it remains very much in use today. BNNO Travel correspondent Kenneth visited Cam Thanh village, on the edges of Hội An, on November 1, 2026, to see the tradition up close.
The Tax Story Behind the Shape
The thúng chai is, by function, undeniably a boat — circular in form, woven from bamboo, and sealed to float. Yet one of the most widely repeated stories behind its design, as relayed in Kenneth's script filed from Hội An, credits the French colonial administration with inadvertently inspiring it.
According to BNNO Travel's on-location reporting, the popular account holds that colonial authorities levied taxes on conventional boats. Vietnamese fishermen responded with characteristic resourcefulness: they built vessels so distinctly round and basket-like that they could reasonably argue — and apparently did — that what they paddled was a basket rather than a taxable boat. Whether that argument ever persuaded a tax collector is unrecorded, but the design endured and became woven into Vietnamese coastal life.
Designed for Shallow, Tight Waterways
Before the thúng chai became a draw for visitors, it was a working fisherman's tool. Kenneth reported from the site that local fishermen across generations used these lightweight, round craft for fishing and for moving through shallow coastal waterways where larger flat-bottomed vessels could not manoeuvre.
The circular hull, which seems counterintuitive by conventional boat-building standards, provides a low draft and high agility in reed-lined channels — qualities especially suited to the delta and estuary environments that characterise Vietnam's central coast.
Cam Thanh Village and the Nipa Palm Waterways
For visitors today, the living centre of thúng chai culture is Cam Thanh, a village situated near Hội An. As Kenneth reported on November 1, 2026, local boatmen now navigate tourists through a network of nipa coconut palm waterways — narrow, shaded channels canopied by palms leaning in from both banks.
The experience extends well beyond a passive boat ride. According to the BNNO Travel report, skilled boatmen demonstrate their paddling techniques, race the vessels against one another, and perform what has become the signature crowd favourite: spinning the round boats in rapid, tight circles that produce a disorienting, carnival-like centrifugal effect. That spin is controlled entirely through the boatman's paddle strokes and shifting body weight.
How the Boats Are Made
The thúng chai's construction is itself a distinct craft tradition. The hull is woven from split bamboo in an overlapping lattice pattern, then sealed — traditionally with a mixture of tar and dung, though modern versions may substitute resin — to make it watertight. The finished vessel is both buoyant and durable relative to the simplicity of its materials.
Their light weight is a practical feature: a single person can lift and carry one, which made them well suited for fishermen launching from open beaches with no jetties or docking facilities.
From Working Vessel to Cultural Landmark
Over recent decades, the thúng chai has moved from everyday fishing equipment to one of the most recognisable cultural emblems of central Vietnam. Hội An — a UNESCO World Heritage city — has become the main point of international contact with the tradition, drawing visitors who explore the old town's lantern-lit streets before heading to Cam Thanh for the water experience.
As BNNO Travel's Kenneth summarised from Hội An, what initially looks like nothing more than an oversized woven basket reveals itself on closer inspection to be a layered object carrying centuries of working history, fishing culture, and practical Vietnamese ingenuity.
The boats remain on the water. The boatmen are still spinning them.
Source: BNNO Travel