Pandemic shrouds incense village

Red-y to light up: A worker collecting dried incense sticks in a courtyard in Quang Phu Cau village ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations, known in Vietnam as Tet. — AFP

Vietnam’s “incense village” is dazzling pink and red as workers prepare the fragrant sticks for the Lunar New Year holiday, but strict rules to stop the spread of Covid-19 are dulling its lustre.

January is usually the busiest time of year for workers in Quang Phu Cau village on the outskirts of Hanoi, where the tradition of making incense goes back more than a century.