The report covers the young team from Longtou Village returning home to start businesses and driving rural revitalization through the Chinese lacquer industry. It was originally published in the 'Youth' column of People's Daily under the title Contributing the Strength of Youth to Promoting Fine Traditional Culture.
Key points of the report
- Returned home after graduating with a master's degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University and took over the family's raw lacquer business;
- Invited experts to run several training sessions on raw lacquer tapping and production techniques, helping lacquer farmers improve their skills in growing and tapping lacquer;
- Adopted an 'enterprise + cooperative + farmer household' model providing seedlings, funding, talent and technical support, and explored a model of 'centralized services, unified purchasing and unified sales';
- Raised the incomes of several hundred lacquer farming households and reshaped the production and sales model of traditional lacquerware with modern thinking;
- Established an inheritor training base, cultivating young lacquer art talent through in-person classes, online livestreams and instructional videos.
Direct quotes
'When a traditional industry meets fierce market competition, innovation is indispensable.' The report records how Yuan Duanjiao, after resolving the raw material issue, improved techniques and expanded the product range in response to the diverse and personalized needs of customers, and took the path of brand-based management.
'To give traditional skills new vitality, we need to connect them closely with daily life.' In her view, lacquerware must not only have practical value, but also be combined with the long-standing culture of lacquer.