Lantern making gives villagers in E China's Shandong steady income

Villagers in Hefang neighborhood, Huimin county, east China's Shandong province, have secured a steady income for their families by producing handmade lanterns for the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The tradition of producing handmade lanterns in Hefang dates back to the reign of Xuande Emperor (1399-1435) of the Ming Dynasty, and the craft has been designated as a local intangible cultural heritage. According to local custom, children hold up lanterns during the Festival to pray for longevity.

Unlike round lanterns, the reed and paper lanterns made in Hefang are long, enclosed by glass-paper covered with flower patterns, animals and Chinese characters around the main body and red glazed paper near both ends.

Zhang Hongbin, who is in his 60s, is an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage. Awarded the title of "excellent cultural talent in Shandong's rural areas", he began learning the craft from his father when he was 14 years old and has been producing handmade lanterns for over 50 years.

While passing forward the traditional process of lantern making that he learnt from his father, Zhang also introduces innovations into his works by designing new graphic patterns on the glass paper so that they keep up with the times.

In recent years, Zhang has been selling his lanterns through online e-commerce platforms. In the 45 days from the last lunar month of 2020 to the Lantern Festival, Zhang sold more than 3,000 handmade lanterns for more than 10,000 yuan ($1,547).

Over 100 households from about six surrounding villages have been engaged in the lantern-making business, earning an average household income of over 20,000 yuan each year, reports have confirmed.