Traditional Wooden Chinese New Year Pictures of Yangjiabu, Weifang
3 min readThe art of making Yangjiabu traditional wooden Chinese New Year pictures resembles an exotic flower among the treasures of folk arts in China and is famous in China and overseas for its strong pastoral flavor and simple, fresh artistic style.
The village of Yangjiabu, Weifang is one of the three main production centers for traditional wooden Chinese New Year pictures (Yangliuqing in Tianjin, Taohuawu in Suzhou and Yang jiabu in Hanting). The techniques used in the pictures from Yang jiabu have been developed and improved over the course of hundreds of years in accordance with the ll requirements, customs and beliefs, aesthetic concepts and daily necessities of the local farmers to create their own ancient, elegant, unrefined, and bright style。
Yang jiabu traditional wooden Chinese New Year pictures have a long history. as long ag as the ming dynasty in the village every house made traditional chinese New Year pictures and everyone flew kites. The “Jixinghao Chinese New Year Picture Workshop, founded in the 13th year of the reign Ming Emperor Chongzhen(1640), has 239. 4 square meters and 11 rooms.
A diverse array of subjects is depicted in the Yang jiabu traditional wooden Chinese New Year pictures in many different forms and types. The main subjects include wishes for prosperity and good luck, wishes to avoid disasters and calamities, beautiful women and children, wishes for luck and happiness, people s everyday life, men at farming and womenat weaving, novels and traditional operas, myths and legends, natural scenery, and flying birds and stalking animals. Some also feature practical items used in daily life. Yangjiabu traditional wooden Chinese New Year pictures have become part of international cultural exchange attracting foreign business people and tourists and a pivotal area for developing the global-market-oriented economy of Weifang .
The sightseeing area was set up in 1986 with an area of 240 mu. The park combines rest and recreation with folk art production, exhibition and participation activities as an important scenic area in the Shandong Thousand-li Folk Customs tour. the park is divided into four exhibition zones for the art of Yang jiabu traditional wooden Chinese New Year pictures, the art of kites, folk culture and art on the Yangjiabu old Shopping street and the culture and art of Zheng banqiao. There are a total of 28 individual sights. Tourists can gain a thorough underst anding of the history and the ancient and unique production techniques in use for over 600 years to make the traditional Chinese New Year pictures. Tourists can also watch the whole traditional process for making Yangjiabu kites, enjoy the kite exhibition and enjoy the sight of kites looking like paper flowers filling the sky like snow flurries ther folk art attractions includ paper cutting, redwood inlaid with silver, clay figures, dough figures, Cloisonne and silver statues. Tourists can also gain an appreciation for the heart and soul of the culture of zheng banqiao. Visitors from far and wide are attracted to the ancient ming Dynasty scholar trees, the special style of the ming and Qing dynasty buildings, the tranquil rural courtyard houses with their imposing gate spirits and great inner screen walls depicting luck, prosperity and long life, and the ancient and simple folk customs of the local people.
The Yangjiabu Folk Art Scenic Park is a gallery for folk art and a great place for domestic and foreign tourists to come to appreciate folk art. Reactions from visitors have been very good. The scenic area has been named as aNational Model for Agricultural Tourism, one of the “56 Scenic Areas in the Country with the most ethnic flavor, one of the “Top ten Brands in tourism and Recreation Sites in Shandong d”Model in Shandong Agricultural Tourism. The Chinese New Year pictures and kites of Yangjiabu have been recognized as a”Famous Shandong Trademark”brand Shehuo performance in Yangxian County, Shaansi, using modern traffic facilities.
