May 1 marks International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day. As a national public holiday in China, it brings a five-day break from May 1 to May 5. If you are looking for something meaningful and fun to do this May Day holiday, come to the Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum and create your own traditional craft masterpiece!
From May 1 to 5, the museum will bring Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage to life with a series of hands-on workshops. Whether you're drawn to jade-carved flowers, fish-shaped lanterns, or the traditional art of agarwood crafting, there's something new to experience each day.
Sign up, roll up your sleeves, and dive into the magic of Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage! Each workshop offers a hands-on experience in one of five traditional crafts. Here are the details:
Event Information
Time: 2:30 - 5:00 pm, May 1 to May 5
Venue: 1F, Special Exhibition Hall, Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum
Notes:1. Visitors can sign up on-site to participate for free. Spots are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. To ensure fair access to materials, each participant (or family group) may receive only one set of materials per activity.
Brief introduction to the crafts
1. Jade-carved flower
Jade-carved flower
This intricate art form uses various types of jade to create miniature flower trees. Artisans carve individual components such as petals and leaves, then drill, polish, and assemble them into lifelike floral arrangements. The process involves dozens of meticulous steps, from selecting materials to shaping, refining, and final composition.
2. Fish-shapedlanterns
Fish-shaped lanterns
Symbolizing abundance and good fortune, these lanterns vary in size and are made by weaving bamboo into round-bellied fish frames. These frames are then covered with red paper printed with golden scales, resulting in vivid, lively, and charming creations.
3. Classical Xinhuifurniture
Classical Xinhui furniture
Xinhui, a district in Jiangmen City in Guangdong's Pearl River Delta, is renowned for its classical furniture. Known for refined craftsmanship and luxurious materials like rosewood, these pieces feature traditional techniques such as carving, inlay, painting, and especially complex openwork carving, resulting in elegant and ornate designs.
4. Golden Loong using Caizha
Golden Loong using Caizha
This loong-shaped decorative piece uses bamboo as its main structure, combined with rattan, wire, fabric, local plants, and mineral pigments. The craft process includes sketching, framework building, coloring, and assembly. Its vibrant colors reflect the natural hues of the Pearl River Delta region.
5. Traditional agarwoodcrafting of Zhongshan City
Agarwood incense
Agarwood, known as oudh or gaharu, is a fragrant resinous wood highly valued for incense, perfumes, and medicine. It forms when Aquilaria trees are wounded and infected by fungi, which triggers the tree to produce resin as a defense.
Zhongshan, a city in Guangdong's Pearl River Delta, is famous for its unique agarwood crafting techniques. The primary mountain range of the city is Wugui Mountain, which is well-known for these techniques. Instead of cutting or burning, local artisans apply fungus-rich soil to tree wounds, resulting in a distinctive and sustainable method of agarwood production.
Reporter | Li Muzi
Photo | Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, Nanfang Plus,
Editor | Hu Nan, James, Shen He
