Wings of tradition

At 13, Huang Qian drew a picture of people flying with wings, titled The Future. With her father's help, she transferred it onto a piece of purple pottery, ensuring it would be preserved without fading.

Now 30, Huang has given wings to the future of her hometown's purple pottery in Jianshui county, helping it soar beyond the mountains of Yunnan province.

Huang comes from a long line of purple pottery artisans and is the seventh generation to carry on this ancient craft. Dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Jianshui purple pottery was recognized as a State-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

The process of creating purple pottery is intricate, involving 12 main steps and 108 sub-steps. Instead of painting directly onto the pottery, artisans inscribe calligraphy and artwork onto the raw clay, carving them into grooves that are later filled with colored clay. After meticulous polishing, the pottery achieves a mirror-like shine, all without the need for glaze.

As Huang grew up, most of her peers in the family moved away from the tradition of making purple pottery. In 2015, while studying at Yunnan Arts University, she decided to take on the responsibility of preserving this ancient craft.

"My generation's task is to build a brand around this craft," she said. "I truly believe that consumption is the best way to preserve old traditions. I want everyone to own a piece of purple pottery."

In 2019, Huang began livestreaming the pottery-making process on social media platforms like Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok). Through these streams, she not only showcases the history and cultural significance of purple pottery but also engages with a younger audience.

Huang now has around 140,000 followers, with her livestreams attracting up to 100,000 viewers in a single day. About 25 percent of her audience is between the ages of 25 and 35.

Tradition meets trend

On Xiaohongshu, China's lifestyle-sharing platform, over 550,000 posts are tagged with "intangible cultural heritage", as young netizens express their love for traditional crafts.

"In the past two years, young people have shown increasing interest in intangible cultural heritage," said Zhang Dingjuan, 28, who regularly shares her bamboo weaving creations on the platform.

Hailing from Sichuan province in Southwest China, known for its rich bamboo resources, Zhang explained that bamboo weaving in the region, which dates back to the Neolithic era when it was primarily used for making practical tools, has since evolved into a complex art form.

After graduating from Chengdu University in 2019, Zhang returned to her hometown to work as a bamboo crafts designer. As her passion for the art grew, she traveled to Daoming county in Chengdu, renowned as the "hometown of bamboo weaving", where she apprenticed under a skilled master.

With a background in product design, innovation is central to Zhang's approach. She added a modern twist to traditional bamboo weaving by incorporating new colors and patterns.

One of her standout pieces, for example, uses shades of blue to dye the bamboo, creating a gradient effect that makes the patterns appear more lifelike.

Zhang also recalls collaborating with an art student who suggested using metal to replicate bamboo. This sparked new creative ideas, as traditional bamboo weavers have always used bamboo, but thinking outside the box offers broader possibilities.

Today, Zhang works with various designers and brands to craft diverse bamboo-woven products. One unexpected partnership was with a mechanical keyboard brand, which invited her to design for their panda-themed keyboard. Zhang created a fan featuring panda elements, with layered colors that produced a striking radial effect, blending classic elegance with a modern tech vibe.

"Traditional crafts may have faded, but now they're being revived with new energy and becoming part of our modern lives," she said.

Liu Qingwen, 34, explained that about 10 years ago, the focus was primarily on preserving traditional crafts. Today, with the growing cultural confidence among young people, the emphasis has shifted toward innovating and developing these techniques.

Originally from Qinghai province in Northwest China, Liu is the heir to pile embroidery, a craft with roots dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). According to her, this art form emerged when Princess Wencheng brought silk embroidery to Tibetan culture, blending it with local Buddhist traditions to create a unique artistic expression.

The craft involves intricately layering colored cotton, silk, and satin fabrics, which are shaped into designs and then embroidered with threads to achieve a sculptural effect.

Introduced to the craft at a young age by her mother, a national inheritor of pile embroidery, Liu's passion for preserving the art deepened during her time volunteering at the local Ministry of Culture and Tourism after university. In 2014, Liu opened her own studio.

According to her, some traditional pile embroidery techniques have been lost over time. One of her key goals is to rediscover and refine these methods, elevating the craft to new artistic standards.

Liu has also collaborated with universities in Hubei and Qinghai to drive innovation in the craft, incorporating new fabrics and developing cultural products.

From museum to market

It's true that intangible cultural heritage embodies the wisdom of artisans spanning thousands of years. However, with industrialization, many traditional crafts have lost their practical value and are now seen merely as "heritage".

"They end up displayed in museums — admired but not truly used," Liu said. "That's why we, as the current generation of inheritors, must make these crafts not only beautiful but also practical and relevant in today's world."

Liu has ensured that the themes in pile embroidery evolve to reflect contemporary life. For example, one of her standout pieces combines traditional patterns with depictions of eight wildlife species unique to Qinghai.

"Today, Qinghai is an international eco-tourism destination, home to many rare animals. I want to capture that through my art," she said.

Huang shares a similar vision, adapting purple pottery to appeal to a younger market. She has incorporated animation into her designs and expanded the product line to include bracelets, pendants, and vases, in addition to traditional teapots and teacups.

One of her most popular creations is a series of purple pottery teapots adorned with classic Chinese patterns like plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum — four plants that symbolize integrity and virtue. With their minimalist design, easy maintenance, and affordable price of 399 yuan ($55), these teapots are more accessible to younger consumers compared to high-end handmade purple pottery, which can cost thousands.

"While intricate traditional crafts deserve to be displayed in museums as examples of artistic excellence, they shouldn't be confined to admiration. They come from life and should be reintegrated into modern living," Huang said.

Contact the writers at mengwenjie@i21st.cn