A group of handicraft workshops will re-emerge in the Chinese capital of Beijing in the near future to restore the glory of superb 17 traditional handicrafts that face extinction.
Sited in the city's Chongwen District, the workshops will cover 40,000 square meters, with a total investment of nearly 200 million yuan (US$24 million). They will form a leading tourist attraction offering traditional Chinese arts and crafts and folk culture.
The workshops will demonstrate jade ware, cloisonne, lacquer carving, applique work, woodenware, drawn work and pottery. More than 100 arts and crafts masters with national and provincial status will have their own studios at the workshops.
One of the 17 workshops, a 2,000 sq-m pearl shop has already started a trial operation, giving visitors a chance to see how pearls form, pick the pearls from inside freshwater mussels cultivated there and watch craftsmen process them for customers.
Meanwhile, a museum will also be added nearby to display works by late distinguished arts and crafts masters.
Beijing's traditional handicrafts used to include about 100 different skills in 60-odd categories, of which ivory carving, jade ware, cloisonne and lacquer carving have become famed worldwide.
Unfortunately, the arts and crafts sector has shrunk over recent years, with quite a few traditional skills dying out or on the verge of extinction.
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2002)
