Shandong's craftsmen integrate dragons into their works

Artisans in the Hanting district of Weifang city – located in East China's Shandong province – have thrown themselves into making a raft of dragon-related handicraft works to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year.

At the century-old Hexingyong painting shop, Yang Naidong, a proud inheritor of intangible cultural heritage Yangjiabu woodblock New Year paintings, has created a new painting for the Year of the Dragon.

A work called Auspicious Dragon is a woodblock New Year painting designed by Yang Naidong. [Photo by Huang Chenwei for chinadaily.com.cn]

"The dragon I designed this year is circular and I wish everyone a happy New Year, good health and all the best in the Year of the Dragon," Yang said.

Not far away from the painting shop is a festive lantern factory being operated by Tiancheng Feiyuan Kite, where over 40 workers are kept very busy making dragon-shaped lanterns.

Wang Yongxun, general manager of Tiancheng Feiyuan Kite, said that his company had prepared various types of dragon lanterns, with a bold innovation in color and patterns compared with previous years.

The tallest dragon lantern can reach a height of an estimated 20 meters, he added.

In addition, Zhang Xiaodong, a nation-level inheritor of the Weifang kite, has generously applied dragon motifs in his kite-making, with five dragons on a kite.

The kite embodies Zhang's lofty wishes that Hanting's kites will fly higher and higher and residents' incomes will improve year by year.

Zhang Xiaodong uses dragon motifs in his kites. [Photo by Huang Chenwei for chinadaily.com.cn]

Toy-making inheritor Sun Xiulan has of late been frantic, pumping out a raft of dragon toys. She's designed two dragon cloth toys, with bright colors and a premium quality for the festive vibe. (Edited by Chen Chuxuan)