Nie Fangjun adds colors to the pasted-paper sculpture of a lion head. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

Distributed across southwestern China's Guizhou and Hunan provinces, the people of the Miao ethnic minority are considered a versatile group. They are best known for their unique singing and dancing, but some forms of rare Miao craftsmanship have also gained attention as the tourism industry develops in local areas, such as the ancient town of Phoenix. In this prosperous small town, craftsmen still devote themselves to passing on their centuries-old handicrafts.

Art of pasted-paper sculpture

Locals know that Nie Fangjun, 73, probably tops the list of experts of pasted-paper sculpture. To make these sculptures, he binds bamboo into the shape of an animal skeleton, usually an auspicious animal such as a lion, dragon or phoenix, and then fleshes it out with brightly-colored paper and vivid drawings pasted over the bamboo framework. The caring hands of a craftsman bring life into the delicate sculptures, Nie explains. Each has its own significant details, for example, the curly hair of a lion is drawn into the shapes of colorful clouds to symbolize good luck, and the lion's eyebrows are drawn high up on its head to show power.

As early as the age of four, Nie took up the family tradition of making the sculptures and is now among the few remaining artists in this field. He says the art form demands not only talent but also patience. In old times, people used pasted-paper sculpture for various festivities to pray for good luck.

Nowadays, few really understand this ancient art form, but its scarcity makes all the more precious. Besides the flocks of tourists who buy Nie's paper sculptures as souvenirs, increasing numbers of experts researching China's cultural heritage are taking an interest in Nie's handicrafts. Pasted-paper sculpture is included in a book on China's historic art forms.

Dai Endou plays the cucurbit flute for customers at his musical instrument store in the old town area of Phoenix. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

King of the gourd flute

Dai Endou, 72, insists that playing the gourd flute is just his hobby, but the past time has made the old man a star in numerous TV programs on Chinese culture and earned him the name "king of the gourd flute”. In his small shop in Phoenix town, he displays an array of handmade traditional musical instruments such as bamboo flutes, pan pipes, and the xun, an egg-shaped, often six-holed wind instrument made of pottery, which dates back to primitive times.

Dai is self-taught, and his favorite is the gourd flute, which he says is the sound of nature. Unlike the sharp sound of the bamboo flute, the gourd flute is soft and resonating. Dai's musical instruments are sold overseas, although a large number of his customers do not know the trick of playing these historical ethnic instruments and buy them only as travel keepsakes.

One giant gourd flute is placed in a position of honor in Dai's shop - he plays it only when he performs at local festivities. He says playing the instruments keeps him in a good mood, and he has many apprentices, mostly college students, from different parts of China.

It has always been Dai’s wish to open several chain stores in big cities. To him, that would be an effective way to keep these musical art forms alive and widely-known.

Ye Shuiyun demonstrates how to weave Tujia ethnic brocade.[Photo:CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

Weave time into brocade

Ye Shuiyun said it takes a whole day to weave two centimeters of a complicated brocade pattern. She and her husband Fu Yuanqing run a fabric store in the scenic old town area of Phoenix. Ye, who is of the Tujia ethnic minority, weaves brocade, while her husband, who is Miao, draws wax paintings. The two craftspeople are typical in southwestern China, but nowadays, as machines have replaced manual work, handmade brocade and wax paintings are gradually disappearing.

However, Ye said many people still seek handmade brocade, although it takes longer to make and is comparatively expensive. It is easy to distinguish machine-made brocade from handmade ones - the patterns on handmade brocade are more lively and unique compared to those off the production line.

Ye knows about 200 brocade patterns, most of which portray the daily life of the Tujia or Miao people. She is now working on sorting out the patterns and plans to compile them in a book. She is also a guest lecturer at Jishou University in Hunan, where she talks about the origin and features of Tujia brocade to her students.

Along with many other ethnic artists of Hunan, Ye brought her brocade to the 2009 Intangible Culture Heritage Exhibition in Beijing. The event has greatly helped promote and expose Tujia brocade, Ye said.

Keeping local opera alive

The current situation of local opera in Phoenix is not very optimistic. Local farmers perform Yang opera to welcome the spring season. Sung in the local language, the opera mainly tells ancient folklore. Today, only old people can understand and perform Yang opera, says Cheng Qigui, who works at the local culture station.

Nuotang opera, another local opera style, is usually staged to repel ghosts and bad luck. The art form faces the same dilemma - although booming tourism in Phoenix has popularized local opera to an extent, a formal learning institution that provides access to the art is urgently needed, Cheng says.

Because the performers of Yang and Nuotang operas are all elderly, the art form will probably be lost forever if the local government does not do something to protect it, Cheng says.

Nie Fangjun displays a finished pasted-paper sculpture of a lion head. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]