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
Armed police officers and soldiers, in coordination with multiple professional rescue forces, are conducting in-depth search and rescue operations for missing people in the core disaster zone in Mingkeng Village of east China's Jiangxi Province.
At around 07:00 on Tuesday, the rescue headquarters integrated 12 professional teams, including the armed police, public security, and the fire department, to launch a search-and-rescue operation for missing persons in the hardest-hit area of the Shixia group of Mingkeng Village.
As of 18:00 on Tuesday, the mudslide that occurred in the early hours of Saturday has killed 12 people, including one newly identified missing person found in subsequent searches. At present, one person remains unaccounted for, and rescue forces are intensifying their search and rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the Ji'an Detachment of the Jiangxi Armed Police Force deployed officers and soldiers to extend rescue efforts to surrounding disaster-affected townships.
On Tuesday morning, rescuers split into multiple teams and rushed to several villages in Zuo'an Township and Tanghu Township of Suichuan County to urgently evacuate the trapped residents.
Trapped in mountainous areas, villagers faced destroyed access roads and mountain paths that became slippery and impassable after days of heavy rainfall; most stranded residents were elderly people with limited mobility. The armed police officers and soldiers conducted door-to-door checks and carried the trapped residents on their backs, successfully evacuating all of them to safe zones.
"All village roads are completely impassable. The local residents here are all left-behind elderly people and children, and it is extremely difficult to complete the evacuation relying solely on the strength of the town government officials. This time, we are deeply indebted to the armed police officers and soldiers for their assistance in evacuating all these elderly residents," said Wang Yuli, deputy mayor of Tanghu Township in Suichuan County.
"The mountain slopes are covered in thick mud, making the ground extremely slippery. In some sections, stretchers cannot pass through at all, so rescuers have to carry the stranded people on their backs. As long as the people are safe, it is worthwhile to endure all the hardship and exhaustion," said Jiang Jiang, a soldier of the Ji'an Detachment of the Jiangxi Armed Police Force.
Rescuers intensify search efforts in mudslide-hit village in east China's Jiangxi
