Pic story of oil-paper umbrella making in Fenshuiling, China's Sichuan

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Bi Liufu arranges finished oil-paper umbrellas in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. The making of the Fenshui oil-paper umbrella, which originated in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, is a national-level intangible cultural heritage that boasts a history of over 400 years.

According to Bi Liufu, a 68-year-old representative inheritor of the craft, an oil-paper umbrella involves various kinds of carefully selected raw materials, and has to go through more than 90 steps including bamboo-chopping, frame-fabricating, tung oil-brushing and lithographing in its making procedure.

The senior Bi and his son Bi Yuanshen have been dedicatedly preserving, innovating and popularizing the traditional handicraft. By adopting new patterns and techniques, they have breathed new vitality into this fine art.

For Bi Liufu, the oil-paper umbrella is more than an ordinary shield from rain drops and sunlight. It holds a significant position in the Chinese culture, symbolizing the humanity's indomitable spirit standing upright between heaven and earth. "It's my duty to preserve and pass on this cultural legacy," Bi said. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)