Keeper of dragon head cultural heritage committed to preserving tradition

Zhang Weichao, a post-85s dragon head sculptor from Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, has wielded carving knives for nearly 30 years, crafting over 1,000 dragon heads. With each stroke, he imbues the dragon boat with spirit, shaping it with his passion.

Also known as Duanwu, the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, the festival fell on May 31 this year.

Dragon boat races are a crucial part of the festival. But often overlooked are the small details carved into the boats themselves, especially the dragon head.

In his studio in Xiasha Village, Huangpu District, dragon heads of various shapes are scattered everywhere.

With his carving knife in hand, Zhang worked tirelessly, crafting the 55th dragon head he would deliver this year. From selecting the wood to applying the finishing lacquer, each dragon head undergoes more than a dozen meticulous processes.

"The blueprint is in his mind. Each dragon head embodies the spirit and history of the village it represents. People incorporate the elements they wish to express into the design of the dragon head. At this time every year, I will become so busy that aside from eating and sleeping, all I do is carve dragon heads. I need to make 100 dragon heads a year," said Zhang.

Zhang was born in Xiasha Village, a place known for its intricate network of rivers and streams. His father worked as a carpenter but also made dragon boats for the local villages.

Growing up with the scent of wood, Zhang developed a deep fascination with dragon boat culture. At the age of seven or eight, he secretly picked up his father's carving knife and began sculpting dragon heads.

In 2010, he quit his teaching job and turned his passion for carving dragon heads into a profession.

The dragon head represents the soul of the dragon boat. From the curvature of the dragon's horns and the openness of its mouth to the expression in its eyes and the intricate lacquer patterns, each village has its own distinct dragon.

For Zhang, carving must be done with careful consideration before each stroke, because once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

"From a simple block of wood, it is shaped into a dragon head using the tools here. With every stroke, you must think carefully, because once you carve, there's no going back. Each village has its own unique history and cultural story, so we draw upon these to infuse our creations with meaning. By embedding culture into the object, it gains warmth and power. I believe this is what makes the work truly significant," said Zhang.

Keeper of dragon head cultural heritage committed to preserving tradition

Chinese universities must evolve from "innovation parks" into "engines" to drive industrial development, a national political advisor said on Saturday in Beijing.

Zhang Qiao, president of Soochow University, a prestigious university in east China's Jiangsu Province, was speaking to the press in a group interview along with other members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body.

His view coincides with the country's greater emphasis on self-reliance in science and technology to boost high-quality growth during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

According to Zhang, close collaboration between Chinese academic institutions and the industry is crucial for driving this growth, as academic institutions are where innovation thrives, and the industry has the resources, practical knowledge and infrastructure to make innovation fruitful.

Zhang said that during this year's fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, he has proposed building corporate labs on university campuses and moving university classrooms into companies, thus deepening university-industry collaboration.

He highlighted the achievements in academia-industry collaboration since the joint establishment of the regional university-industry technology transfer center by the Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province, the first national-level center of its kind, since September 2024.

"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and let me take Jiangsu for an instance, the Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province jointly set up the first regional technology transfer center among China's universities. Over the past year, the center hosted 32 public transfer platforms, actively fostered partnerships with over 100 top universities nationwide, gathered as many as 5,742 sci-tech outcomes, of which 344 transferred to the industry, and incubated 164 new businesses," he said.

Looking ahead, Zhang said Chinese universities must play a better role in driving scientific and technological innovations and industrial development in emerging fields.

"Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan, we must not only become 'innovation parks' that provide inspiration, but also 'engines' that drive development. We must stay focused on the sci-tech frontiers to break through the boundaries of human knowledge, while remaining rooted in the fertile soil of the industry to help solve the practical problems for enterprises," he said.

National political advisor on closer academia-industry collaboration