Sisters are a glass act honoring heritage

But when Chang Yuling died in 1986, they no longer kept the craft going, so they met a lot of difficulties trying to recover it. For example, they remembered names of the dyes their elders used, but when they bought them, they found the colors were not like those from their memory.

Later, they learned that the former dye factory had closed down, and the new products, though bearing the same name, were made by other factories and had different hues.

Since Chang Yan was a fine arts teacher who understood color, the sisters decided to do it themselves. After about three months, they finally made some "grapes" and took them to visit an apprentice of Chang Yuling, surnamed Li, who had learned the craft from her master in the 1950s.

Li, in her 80s at the time, was very excited to see the "grapes". "She was surprised at us being able to figure out the craft, and praised that the way they looked was just like the ones they had made in the past," recalls Chang Hong.

The Chang sisters hadn't seen grapes made by their elders for many years, and had based their work only on their memory. As a result, Li's words were deeply reassuring.