Tungsten and Silver-gilt adornment is made using traditional skills that are known by only several people in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. It is a special skill inherited by only one family before the sixth-generation inheritor started classes to teach the endangered skills to a new crop of craftsmen.

Tungsten and Silver-gilt adornments are beautiful art works with decoration with silver or gold-gilding. The ark works are normally black and white or black and yellow with their own surprising beauty.

Tungsten and Silver-gilt adornments are beautiful art works with decoration with silver or gold-gilding. The ark works are normally black and white or black and yellow with their own surprising beauty.

But the famous skills once disappeared for a long time. But in the 1970s last century, it was inherited by its sixth-generation inheritor Jin Yongcai from the fifth-generation inheritor. With that choice, the art finally re-appeared in Yunnan.

Jin Yongcai, inheritor, said, "He was in severe illness at that time. He gave me a paper and asked me to remember what was on the paper within 10 mins. Although I did not have very high-level of education. But I still know what was written on the paper. I quickly tried my best to remember it. After that, he burnt the paper which records the traditional skills of making tungsten and silver-gilt adornment."

Jin always keeps the last words and old teachings from the inheritors of the passed five generations, that is -- the skills cannot be learnt by girls or be distributed outside Yunnan. Jin only has two daughters. But because of his age, the disappearance of the skills makes him worry so much. After several times of thinking and talking with the officers from the local municipal government, he finally made a brave decision to start a class to teach this skill.

Through a strict selection process, he chose only 6 apprentices from over 100 applicants.

Liu Qinghai, 3rd apprentice, said, "When I saw the Tungsten and Silver-Gilt Adornment, I was so surprised. These art works were so wonderful. I never knew there were such great things in Yunnan. I really wanted to know how to make them. And I was lucky enough to be selected by Master Jin in August last year."

In order to promote this precious skills, Jin has signed agreements with three universities such as Yunnan Normal University. He hopes the skills can be learned by those college students for their related subjects, and those students can bring this skills to the world.

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