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A visit to Pingyao varnished lacquer ware workshop
Updated:2014-07-25 16:04By Sylvia Fang ( chinadaily.com.cn)
The history of varnished lacquer ware in Pingyao, Northern China's Shanxi province, dates back to the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (713-741), with it later becoming popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The craft is a renowned intangible cultural heritage in the city, famous for its varnishing process using a special hand technique and the color painting decorations.
Currently, Pingyao has about 110 workshops and 70 retail shops in the industry, with 2500 employees and an annual income of over a hundred million yuan ($16 million).
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Yonglong Lacquer Ware, in the ancient city of Pingyao, is a manual workshop for varnished lacquer ware in existence for over two centuries. The staff are showing one of their varnished lacquer pieces—a pair of super large chopsticks. [Photo/Xinhuanet.com by Peng Yang, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, on August 19, 2008] |
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A craftsman in a local lacquer ware workshop, in Pingyao, Shanxi province, is varnishing the surface of a piece of lacquer ware. [Photo/Xinhuanet.com by Peng Yang, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, on August 19, 2008] |
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Another craftsman in local lacquer ware workshop, in Pingyao, Shanxi province, is working carefully on a mosaic. [Photo/Xinhuanet.com by Peng Yang, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, on August 19, 2008] |
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