Shandong's district showcases rich cultural heritage

The Luxi New District – located in Heze city in East China's Shandong province – has been dedicated to the protection, inheritance and promotion of its cultural heritage.

The district is home to 15 intangible cultural heritage items, including one national-level and two provincial-level items. It also boasts a variety of traditional handicrafts.

Recently, the Shandong Arts & Crafts Exhibition Center in Jinan, the provincial capital, staged a national intangible heritage item from the Luxi New District – Caozhou mianren, or Caozhou dough figurine sculptures – wowing a host of visitors.

A Caozhou mianren work goes on show in the Shandong Arts & Crafts Exhibition Center in Jinan. [Photo by Sun Anqi for chinadaily.com.cn]

Known for its exceptional craftsmanship, the Luxi New District's Muli village is recognized as "China's first village of dough figurine sculptures".

Local inheritors Li Bin, Ma Qing and Li Dan from Muli presented a lecture and demonstration on the making of Caozhou mianren, allowing visitors to experience its charm.

Caozhou mianren is a folk art with a recorded history of over 150 years. The works are created using various techniques, such as rubbing, pinching and pressing, to form intricate shapes of characters and animals.

Currently, there are over 1,000 professionals engaged in dough figurine sculptures in the district, including four inheritors at the national and provincial levels. (Edited by Jin Yongxue)