As the Year of the Horse is only some days away, Phuc Am votive paper making village in Hanoi is working full steam to cater to bulk orders on their dexterously crafted paper horses, which will be burned to pay homage to ancestors and pray for good luck on pilgrimages during and following Tet.

Phuc Am village in Thuong Tin district, which has made its name in making votive papers for years, produces all kinds of these worship items. However, its specialty is gaudy, intricately-crafted paper horses, which are reverently called Mr. Horse by locals.

The horse making process is quite time and energy consuming, and different artisans and workers are in charge of different phases.

The horses vary from VND400,000 (US$19) to VND2 million ($94) apiece dependant on their sizes, complexity and the richness of details.

However, these horses can’t last long as they aren’t used for decorative purposes. Instead they will turn into ashes in a controversial long-standing tradition of burning votive papers during and after Tet to pay tribute to ancestors or pray for good luck on pilgrimages to pagodas.

According to village head Nguyen Van Giang, 80 percent of the village’s 250 households take part in the horse-making phases.

The village also boasts over 20 workshops producing and distributing paper horses to northern and central provinces. Villagers produce one hundred horses a day.