This festive season, Regent Phu Quoc introduces a truly one-of-a-kind centrepiece, the Trúc Chỉ Christmas Tree, a sculptural work of art that reimagines the spirit of Christmas through the lens of Vietnamese craftsmanship, material innovation, and light.
Standing at nearly four metres tall, the Trúc Chỉ Christmas Tree is the first Christmas tree ever created by Trúc Chỉ artists, conceived as a living artwork rather than a decorative object. Realised over 35 days, encompassing 1,120 hours of meticulous craftsmanship and crafted from more than 38 kilograms of recycled natural fibre, the tree transforms Trúc Chỉ from paper art into an architectural and kinetic form.
Measuring 250cm by 400cm, the artwork is composed of two monumental translucent Trúc Chỉ panels activated by a custom-engineered rotating mechanism inspired by the traditional Vietnamese revolving lantern (đèn kéo quân). Conceptualised and directed by artist Trần Quang Thắng, the kinetic system introduces gentle, rhythmic movement, allowing the two layers to glide within precise thresholds. As the panels rotate, light, fibre grain, and spatial depth continuously shift, animating the tree as a living presence rather than a static form.
Within this structure, light, material, and void engage in an ongoing dialogue. The Trúc Chỉ graphic technique interacts with the artist’s hand-carved interventions, allowing the natural veins of bamboo and plant fibres to converse with deliberate marks of human touch. This relationship reflects Trúc Chỉ’s core philosophy, where traditional craft is not preserved as an artefact, but extended through contemporary expression.
The two translucent panels were executed by Trúc Chỉ artist Nguyễn Phước Nhật, whose twelve years of dedicated practice inform the refined technical treatment of the surfaces. Each layer is processed to achieve balanced translucency, enabling light to permeate, diffuse, and radiate across the structure. Here, illumination becomes a sculptural force, shaping depth, rhythm, and spatial perception throughout the work.
As a whole, the Trúc Chỉ Christmas Tree stands as an evolving artistic environment. With every rotation, new configurations of light and shadow emerge, allowing the artwork to exist as a continuously transforming space, and demonstrating how Vietnamese material traditions can generate new visual languages within a contemporary luxury setting.
Bespoke Regent Phu Quoc Illustrations
Complementing the Trúc Chỉ Christmas Tree are bespoke festive illustrations drawn from Regent Phu Quoc’s signature visual language, inspired by a king’s legend on this idyllic Vietnamese island.
The illustrations reference The King’s Well in An Thoi Town, a historical site associated with Emperor Gia Long. According to legend, while fleeing pursuit in the 18th century, the emperor plunged his sword into stone, from which fresh water miraculously flowed forth, sustaining him and his followers. Symbols of fortune emerged from this story, including freshwater streams, rice fish, pearls, and peppercorns, all of which remain integral to the island’s cultural identity.
Created by Saddo, a renowned Romanian artist, the illustrations weave together motifs such as the freshwater stream and sea, Lord Nguyễn and his sword, lucky rice fish, black pearls, coral reefs, starfish, rose myrtle, and the Phu Quoc pepper plant. Together, they form a visual narrative of resilience, abundance, and renewal, echoing both the festive season and the cultural spirit of the destination.
The Trúc Chỉ Christmas Tree forms part of Regent Phu Quoc’s Festive Celebrations 2025, a curated collection of dining, wellness, and cultural experiences designed to immerse guests in the season through art, craftsmanship, and elevated hospitality. Full festive offerings can be explored via the resort’s Festive Celebrations brochure.
For more information, please visit https://phuquoc.regenthotels.com or contact the property directly at regent.phuquoc@ihg.com.
