As young people begin exploring intangible cultural heritage, a touch of fashion is breathing new life into traditional wooden clogs with a history spanning a thousand years.
In an old arcade building in Shilong Town, Dongguan, Liang Jiacong, the fifth-generation inheritor of the "Yingchang Wooden Clog Workshop," is working alongside his father, Liang Jinquan, to transform lacquered wooden clogs from festive items once popular among Dongguan locals into cultural symbols cherished by consumers across China and even the world.
Wooden clogs were once widely worn in Dongguan. They were not only a daily necessity for ordinary people, but also an essential part of local celebrations, including weddings and housewarmings. Born in 1962, Liang Jinquan is an inheritor of this intangible cultural heritage. Since he entered the trade as an apprentice in 1984, he has devoted more than four decades to preserving the roots of the traditional craft.
In 2022, the small workshop, once tucked away in an alley, moved to the Zhongshan Road Historical and Cultural District. In early 2023, Liang Jiacong, a Gen Z young man, left his job in Guangzhou and returned to his hometown of Shilong, Dongguan, to help run his father's wooden clog shop and take part in the making of the clogs.
In his view, lacquered wooden clogs have enormous creative potential. They can bring together traditional crafts such as Cantonese embroidery, Guangcai porcelain and wood carving, while also incorporating contemporary fashion elements to create a "new Chinese style" that caters to the tastes of younger consumers.
He also began filming short videos for social media, introducing Dongguan's wooden clog culture in accessible language, and launched livestreams to showcase his father's crafting process. These efforts attracted the attention of numerous culture-focused content creators, and more and more people began visiting the shop to try their hand at making wooden clogs.
In 2025, he and his father teamed up with actress Lan Yingying to create the show "Wooden Clogs: Phoenix in Auspicious Harmony," which made its debut at Milan Fashion Week. The striking encounter between a unique intangible cultural heritage craft and the international fashion stage brought this traditional item back into the public spotlight.
After joining IP GUANGDONG, Liang plans to show how lacquered wooden clogs are made and share the cultural stories behind them, helping more people overseas discover the craft and experience the beauty of Lingnan through it.
Text | Lin Lu, Hong Ting (intern), Zhang Mingyu (intern), Liu Ziying (intern)
Video editor | Qin Shaolong
Design | Cheng Hong
Video footage & photos | IP GUANGDONG creator Liang Jiacong
