Shanxi to revitalize traditional arts, crafts

North China's Shanxi province recently rolled out a work plan to revitalize and boost the local arts and crafts industry, according to a statement from the Shanxi provincial government on March 30.

The province plans to develop such famous brands as polished lacquerware, Chengni ink slabs and fahua -- Chinese porcelain ware with bold, deep blue decorations and glazes in turquoise, purple, green, yellow and white. It plans to develop polished lacquerware and develop 50 arts and crafts companies above a designated size -- those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.82 million) or more -- and train 10,000 craftspeople in the arts and crafts in the three to five years to come.

Shanxi will carry out a general survey of its handicraft resources, appraise local arts and crafts resources, to gain a measure of the overall picture and establish a database of traditional arts and crafts in the province.

Meanwhile, the province will issue a catalogue based on local national and provincial-level intangible cultural heritage items. This will put the focus on supporting traditional crafts with a certain production scale, as well as to focus pm good development prospects and the benefits of higher employment.

In addition, Shanxi will explore and record endangered traditional crafts with unique historical significance, by compiling a set of paper and digital record files and shooting a series of crafts and craftspeople feature films, as well as train a group of traditional craftspeople.