Yang Jianian designs patterns for painted sculptures at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Oct. 31, 2024. Yang Jianian is the representative inheritor and the fifth generation descendant of Yang's painted sculpture, a national intangible cultural heritage with a history of more than 200 years. Yang learned the craft from his father and has since restored numerous clay sculptures and grotto statues.
Influenced by Yang Jianian, the inheritors have innovated the craft while preserving traditions, giving new life to traditional folk arts and promoting local cultural industries.
"In the future, we will bring Yang's painted sculpture to schools and classrooms to preserve and develop the craft," Yang said. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
Yang Jianian shows a tool bag used by his predecessors at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
This photo taken on Oct. 31, 2024 shows painted sculptures at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
Yang Jianian introduces the procedure of making painted sculpture at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
Yang Jianian (L) guides a student at a factory of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Oct. 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
This photo taken on Oct. 31, 2024 shows a painted sculpture at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
Yang Jianian shows a pen container at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
Yang Jianian shows a painted sculpture at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
This photo taken on Oct. 31, 2024 shows a clay sculpture at a gallery of Yang's painted sculpture in Longde County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Mao Zhu)
