Go Deep in Lijiang: He inherits Naxi copper-making

In Baisha Ancient Town of northwest Yunnan’s Lijiang stands a shop called Jishan Bronze Art specializing in making bronze wares. The shopkeeper is a Naxi coppersmith called He Shanjun whose family has been making this handicraft for generations. In 1987, the 17-year-old He Shanjun took over his ancestral business from his father He Jikuan. Today, the copper-making technology is listed as a Yunnan intangible cultural heritage and He is the representative inheritor in Lijiang.

As a trading hub that gathered the caravans during the ancient tea-horse road period from 628 AD, the Baisha Ancient Town was famous for copper-making. At that time, the handicraft became so popular that about five hundred households were making copper.

After more than 30 years of inheritance and innovation, He Shanjun has made new breakthroughs in its skills. In 2014, he was awarded as "Representative Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Yunnan Province". His wish is to make the lost Naxi traditional copper-making techniques become alive again so that the traditional Naxi culture will be boosted.

Source: Yulong Publicity Department; Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi