1 . Fan Shenghua, 60, is one of the inheritors (传承人) of the Xihu Longjing tea roasting technique (炒制技艺). His palms tell you everything — they’re thick, rough, and full of calluses (老茧); they are a reminder of more than 40 years of hard work.

“You have to touch the leaves with your hands to see how much water should be left,” Fan said. “If there is not enough water, the leaves will break into pieces; if there is too much water, the tea will taste bitter (苦涩的).”

This traditional technique dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It not only makes sure the tea is good, but is also an important part of Chinese tea culture. “Longjing tea leaves are famous for their color, taste and shape. Only by hand can we make the best of them. It’s like making a work of art,” Fan said.

These days, however, more people are using machines to do the job. “It’s easier, but the quality is not as good,” Fan said. “Machine-made tea floats (漂浮) longer in water and tastes bitter.”

In March, 2020, when President Xi Jinping visited Hangzhou, he watched Fan roast tea leaves. Fan changed the strength and movement of his hands as he felt the tea leaves roasting. President Xi Jinping later said, “The things made by two palms cannot be replaced by modern technology.”

Fan is now training apprentices (学徒). His son, a 27-year-old college graduate, is one of them. “It’s a tradition. We need to pass it down,” said the father.

“No building comes without carvings (雕刻), and carvings make buildings more valuable,” goes an old saying in Minnan, an area in southern Fujian Province. The saying refers to brick carvings, which were an important feature of the old red brick buildings in the area.

The carvings were once commonly found on either side of the main entrance of Minnan’s buildings. However, with development, the number of ancient red brick buildings has decreased, and Minnan’s brick carvings have gradually faded (逐渐消失) from sight, said Wu Jiandong, a young master brick carver from Fujian’s Quanzhou City.

The 42-year-old has learned the traditional technique and now combines it with modern tastes to develop his own style of brick carving. Wu said that he hoped to be able to help the traditional craft continue through innovation (创新). ①

“Market demands have changed in recent years, and so has our thinking,” Wu said. “We must add modern elements to help pass down and develop traditional crafts.” ②

People in Minnan love tea, so Wu created a series of carved brick tea decorations, including tea plates, cup holders, pot holders and other items. ③

Earlier this year, a pendant (挂件) decorated with a swallow tail ridge (屋脊) and a bright moon was bought by an overseas Chinese man from the Philippines. The customer told Wu that he would hang the pendant in his office as a reminder of the architecture and the moon of his hometown.

Because of the market’s recognition of his work, Wu will be able to pass down the craft and further develop his pieces, and the popularity of short videos has also given him new hopes of promoting (推广) Minnan brick carvings. ④

The art form originated during the Song Dynasty flourished (繁荣) during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is now an important part of national cultural heritage.

The folk art form, kuaiban, which has a long history, can be performed by a group or a single person. With one or two pairs of bamboo clappers — a kind of traditional Chinese musical instrument in their hands, the performers tell stories in the local dialect (方言). These stories are usually folk tales or about social life.

Recently, Liu Jiming and Wan Yifu made and shared three short videos by using kuaiban which were viewed about 4 million times. As a result, Liu and Wan have gained more than 1 million followers on the Internet. They’ve created many new works to raise people’s awareness. Some of their works are about the danger of drunken driving and food safety. They also write stories to show respect to people who make contributions, such as traffic policemen.

According to Liu and Wan, people can understand kuaiban pieces without difficulty. The stories told kuaiban pieces are close to people’s daily lives. Thus, they consider that it is a fun way to introduce the Chinese folk culture through kuaiban. And what matters to them is that both young people and old people begin to know the charm of the art form, kuaiban, which may not be paid much attention to, compared to other traditional art forms.

Folk art forms, like xiangsheng, pingshu and kuaiban, share something in common. These traditional art forms show the beauty and value of traditional Chinese culture so they should be known by more people and get to more areas. Luckily, through the Internet, new performers who go on sharing kuaiban pieces like Liu and Wan are playing an active role. Hopefully these Chinese folk art forms will be alive with the times.

Our children and grandchildren may not have a chance to visit many of the most famous places around the world. War, weather, age, traffic and pollution damage (破坏) these famous places. If we do nothing, they may even no longer remain. But looking after these places often costs more than one country can afford.

In the early 1970s, world governments decided that if they joined together, they would be able to preserve (保护) our history. If every country paid some money, they said, it would be possible to look after important historic places. For this reason, countries around the world united to form the World Heritage Organization in 1972. Today, the organization helps to protect and rebuild the most important places from our history.

However, one of the biggest problems for historic places is vandalism. That is to say, people sometimes enter these places and damage the buildings. At some places, such as Stonehenge in England, governments have built high fences to protect it from vandals.

There are many different ideas about how to solve the problem of vandalism. Some professors say that if guards keep walking around these places, vandals won’t be able to get in. Some professors say that if they fix more television cameras, they won’t need so many guards. Others say that the best way is education. If people learn to respect history, they won’t damage it. They will also want to spend money looking after old places. For this reason, the World Heritage Organization helps to spread information about the value of historic places.

Li still remembers that after China’s reform and opening-up began in 1978, a German business man came to the city and visited their house. He made an offer of 5 million Deutsche marks to buy their house, but Li’s father rejected (拒绝) it.

The man then offered another 100, 000 yuan (about 15, 730 U. S. dollars) to buy the gold-plated carving on the front door of the main hall, but Li’s father rejected the offer once again.

“My father told us not to sell or divide the house just for the need of money,” Li said.

In 1997, the Old Town of Lijiang was successfully listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, following which many ancient houses were sold or rented (出租) out.

“Back then, businessmen regularly called on my door with wads of notes. Each day, the price increased; I can recall that the highest price offered was 130 million yuan for sale and 2 million yuan for rent every year,” Li said, adding that he rejected every single offer, just like his father.

“The root of the family and the original appearance of the ancient house should be completely preserved. Its cultural value is far greater than a lot of money.” he said.

Li decided to convert the heritage house into the Heng Yu Gong Folk House Museum in 2010 and open it to the public for free.

Things, however, did not come easy. Li and his wife faced hard life, supporting themselves by selling cakes for 1 yuan a piece and rice noodles for 5 yuan a bowl.

“Even during the most trying times, I didn’t take down the bricks and tiles to exchange for money.” Li said.