Artisans carve out cultural paths at Bengbu forum

"It's very easy to forget about traditional culture since there are so many convenient products constantly appearing in our lives. But we should not lose this precious culture," said Kato.

Chinese and Japanese experts also offered suggestions on how to attract more young people to learn traditional crafts.

Shimizu Jun, a craftsman who is an inheritor of the traditional Japanese craft of suigetsu ceramics, said, "I used to play with mud and sand in my childhood and developed an interest in making ceramics, but young people now grow up playing video games and don't develop a similar interest during adulthood."

He suggested that children, especially those between the ages of 5 and 12, should be given more opportunities to learn traditional handicrafts, so that it might plant a seed in their hearts in later life.