High-quality reboot revives oilcloth umbrella tradition

Wearing a brightly colored oilcloth apron, 50-year-old Zheng Guoming carefully brushes tung oil on an umbrella cover. Surrounding him are orange oilcloth umbrellas left out to dry, and the area is filled with the scent of tung oil.

"Tung oil is the key to durability of oilcloth umbrellas," Zheng said, adding that it is necessary to brush carefully and evenly to ensure the umbrellas are glossy.

Zheng is manager of the Guoming Oilcloth Umbrella Factory in Gufeng village, Jing county, in eastern China's Anhui province. He is a sixth-generation inheritor of the ancient umbrella-making craft, which boasts a history of around 1,000 years.