Dough sculpture artist Liu Jicheng

Dough sculpture refers to the manual skill of molding mature dough into various forms, such as flowers, birds, fish, insects, scenery, figures and animals, by hand and using special shaping tools. The art of dough sculpture in China dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). After thousands of years of inheritance and development, it has become an integral part of Chinese culture and folk art. It also serves as invaluable physical evidence for archaeology, folklore, sculpture, and aesthetics.

Liu Jicheng, a fifth-generation inheritor of Liu's dough sculpture from southern Liaoning province, began his professional study and creation of dough sculpture in 1992. His work "Twelve Beauties of Jinling" won the Shanhua Award, China's highest folk art honor, provided by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association.

Liu has been commissioned by the Chinese government on multiple occasions to visit countries such as Poland, Singapore, Pakistan, and Mauritius for cultural exchanges. Over the years, he has created numerous outstanding works and has won many awards.

Established in 2024, his dough sculpture training class has trained over 2,000 enthusiasts from China and abroad, significantly promoting the inheritance and development of folk culture in Jinpu New Area.