Folk craftsmen handmake traditional oil-paper umbrellas, preserve cultural heritage

Folk craftsmen in east China's Jiangxi Province have preserved the art of making traditional Jialu oil-paper umbrellas, contributing to the preservation of the intangible cultural heritages.

Jialu umbrellas, which originated in Jialu Village of Jiangxi's Wuyuan County, have a history of over 800 years. In 2021, the craft of making these parasols was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

With a bamboo frame and paper covering, the crafting process for this delicate handicraft requires over 70 steps.

Though the practice of using an umbrella to block sunlight has survived in China, most people now use modern products while oil-paper parasols have gone into decline.

But in 1990, Dai Gensheng, a native of Jialu Village, founded the Jialu oil-paper umbrella factory, aiming to protect and pass on the traditional craftwork.

"When selecting bamboo, we usually require workers to mark stalks that have grown this year, as bamboo typically needs to reach three to five years of age before it can be used for making Jialu oil-paper umbrella. Currently, the paper we now use is made cotton paper reinforced with gauze, replacing the single-layer paper we used in the past so the umbrellas can be stronger and more durable," he said.

Dai explained that making Jialu umbrellas requires chopping bamboo, carefully constructing the skeleton and artfully painting the umbrella cover.

It is a handmade craft that machines cannot emulate, he said.

"In the past, Jialu oil-paper umbrellas were single-colored, either in bright red, black or yellow. Now, we use traditional Chinese painting pigments instead to make the paintings more vibrant and captivating," said the craftsman.

Wuyuan County has attached importance to the protection of its cultural heritage in recent years, facilitated the development of local intangible cultural heritage projects, and held training sessions for the inheritors.

The oil-paper umbrellas made in Jialu have been exported to over 20 countries and regions.

The making of Jialu oil-paper umbrellas has provided employment opportunities for local villagers and boosted the development of local bamboo sales and accessory processing in nearby villages.

Folk craftsmen handmake traditional oil-paper umbrellas, preserve cultural heritage

The China-Laos Railway has facilitated travel and the movement of goods along its route over the past three years.

The 1,035-kilometer railway, a flagship project within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, connects China's southwestern city of Kunming with the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

Starting operation on Dec 3, 2021, it links the new western land-sea corridor and the China-Europe international railway network, extending its cross-border cargo transportation services to 19 countries and regions, including Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Over the past three years, the railway has transported more than 43 million passengers and 48 million tons of cargo, marking a surge of both passenger and cargo transport.

Feng Zhuoliang, a banana trader from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, has benefited from the railway. His company buys approximately 1,000 tons of bananas each month from Mohan, a border town in Yunnan Province.

"I arrived yesterday afternoon. Since then, I've ordered two trucks of goods. My plan today is to purchase around three trucks more," said Feng.

Compared with the road transport, the China-Laos Railway can reduce transportation by three to four days, and lower losses caused from the handling of goods during border transits, Feng said.

The China-Laos Railway has also cut freight costs by 30 percent to 50 percent for shipment between Kunming and Thailand, and by 20 percent to 40 percent for transport within Laos.

In the last three years, the railway served 31 provinces, regions, and municipalities in China and 19 other countries and regions, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore.

In terms of the passenger transport, the daily trains on the China-Laos Railway's domestic section have risen from eight to a peak of 86, and on the international section from four to 16. Monthly passenger numbers have grown from over 600,000 to more than 1.6 million.

"The railway has significantly facilitated the travel for people along the route. We have added extra trains during weekends and holidays," said Dai Rui, a conductor of the Kunming Passenger Transport Section of China Railway Kunming Group.

China-Laos Railway enhances cross-border trade, travel