An embroidered silk picture measuring four by three meters will set a record for being the largest piece of silk art ever produced in Vietnam when it is finished in December and presented to the national capital.

The product of these three numbers (4 x 3 x 167.5) is 2010, the year that Hanoi commemorates the 1000^th anniversary of the founding of Thang Long, as the city was called for centuries.

A dozen kilograms of thread are going into the lotus-themed picture with the title Uoc nguyen ngan nam Thang Long (Wish for the 1,000 years of Thang Long).

Nine of the finest pairs of hands in the XQ Viet Nam Embroidery Workshop in Da Lat began creating the masterpiece in October 2006. By December, they will have put in a thousand man days.

After it is finished, the picture will travel 1,000 kilometers from Da Lat to Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue city, Vinh and Ninh Binh before it is presented to Hanoi in a formal handover with a cast of one thousand.

XQ is the biggest name in Vietnamese silk pictures. Established by husband and wife Vo Van Quan and Hoang Le Xuan, the company is famous for its silk art created by more than 3,000 artisans in six workshops around the country.

VietNamNet//TN