Wang Sanna: Palm weaving skills to be passed on

Wang Sanna shows her palm-woven product. (Photo by Wang Yunya/Yunnan Daily)

“My father Wang Qixiang is the fourth generation of inheritors of palm weaving, one of our intangible cultural heritages in north China’s Hebei province,” said Wang Sanna, market manager of Saosaole Household Producer Cop. Ltd.

Wang said this at the 2023 China International Travel Mart (CITM) held from Nov.17 to 19. “I learned the techniques in my girlhood. So I can weave and love the process. It takes me about one and half an hour to make a small brush like this,” added Wang.

Wang continued to introduce palm-woven products. She said that products made of palm fiber and skin bear long history and culture. Palm-bark rain cape, fans, and even the earliest writing brushes adopted palm materials. “They can be used in both wet and dry conditions. If not touched by water, it does not rot for more than a century. ”

It is her first time came to Kunming and show visitors her palm-woven products, Wang said that her exhibits’ style is in line with the theme “Yunnan: A many-splendored life”, in which natural style, ethnic culture and intangible cultural heritages are involved.

What’s more, brush making calls for high-quality palm fibers. Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in south Yunnan province provides great palm fibers of even thickness that lengthen products’ durability.

“Nowadays, we not only make daily households, but also make accessories like bracelets of folk styles,” added Wang, “and this means that our products are consumer-oriented.” She does hope palm-woven products can attract more visitors, and to keep the century-old techniques alive.

Hebei is a snowy province. Thus, the Hebei exhibition area also provides winter snow tourism products to tourists, as well as specialties like palm-woven products and porcelain.

Source: Yunnan Daily; trans-editing by Wang Yunya