Pic story: inheritor of sheepskin raft-making craft

Niu Qiang carries tourists with a sheepskin raft on the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. Niu Qiang, a sheepskin raft worker from Huining of northwest China's Gansu Province, has been doing the job for 27 years since 16 years old on the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

For 2,000 years, sheepskin rafts have been used to transport goods on the Yellow River. With the development of economy and transportation, the number of rafts gradually reduces with the time, and the transportation form has nowadays become a tourist attraction on the Yellow River.

Niu Qiang thinks he has inherited the ancient handwork from ancestors as other raft workers, which reflects the history and culture of people living on banks of the Yellow River. However, the high costs and complicated procedures have made the making of sheepskin rafts, which needs at least three months, a "lonely" craft that few people want to learn. Listed as one of the intangible cultural heritages in Gansu, the craft now has few inheritors, with Niu Qiang, 43 years old, being the youngest and the oldest being over 90 years old.

This year, Niu Qiang plans to record the complete procedures of the craft with video to let more people know about it.

Niu Qiang washes his hands beside the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. Niu Qiang, a sheepskin raft worker from Huining of northwest China's Gansu Province, has been doing the job for 27 years since 16 years old on the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

Tourists take a sheepskin raft on the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. Niu Qiang, a sheepskin raft worker from Huining of northwest China's Gansu Province, has been doing the job for 27 years since 16 years old on the Lanzhou section of the Yellow River. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

Niu Qiang carries tourists with a sheepskin raft on the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

Niu Qiang breathes air into a sheepskin raft in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Xin)

Niu Qiang fixes a sheepskin raft in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

Niu Qiang carries tourists with a sheepskin raft on the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

Niu Qiang carries tourists with a sheepskin raft on the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Xin)

Niu Qiang carries a sheepskin raft in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)