Students attending the Chinese Culture (“Mindu Culture”) Study and Research Camp for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait visited the Mount Yantai Historic Landscape Area in Fuzhou, capital of the province. from Fujian (southeast China), to learn how to make oil paper umbrellas under the guidance of Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor Yan Lei on July 3.
As one of the three treasures of Fuzhou, the Fuzhou Oil Paper Umbrella has a history of more than 1,000 years, and its manufacturing techniques have been included in the list of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage of the province of Fuzhou. Fujian. For the former inhabitants of Fuzhou, the pronunciation of the word “oiled paper” (“youzhi” in pinyin) recalls that of “youzi”, which means fertility; the bamboo umbrella ribs meanwhile symbolize longevity and career advancement, while the round shape of the umbrella embodies happiness and peace.