Bi Liufu arranges finished oil-paper umbrellas in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. The making of the Fenshui oil-paper umbrella, which originated in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, is a national-level intangible cultural heritage that boasts a history of over 400 years.
According to Bi Liufu, a 68-year-old representative inheritor of the craft, an oil-paper umbrella involves various kinds of carefully selected raw materials, and has to go through more than 90 steps including bamboo-chopping, frame-fabricating, tung oil-brushing and lithographing in its making procedure.
The senior Bi and his son Bi Yuanshen have been dedicatedly preserving, innovating and popularizing the traditional handicraft. By adopting new patterns and techniques, they have breathed new vitality into this fine art.
For Bi Liufu, the oil-paper umbrella is more than an ordinary shield from rain drops and sunlight. It holds a significant position in the Chinese culture, symbolizing the humanity's indomitable spirit standing upright between heaven and earth. "It's my duty to preserve and pass on this cultural legacy," Bi said. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu assembles an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman applies tung oil on the cover of an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu (L) and his son Bi Yuanshen discuss on a pattern of oil-paper umbrellas in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman makes an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu (L) and his son Bi Yuanshen discuss on a pattern of an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu prints a pattern of oil-paper umbrella with a stone plate in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu assembles an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu prints a pattern of oil-paper umbrella with a stone plate in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman fabricates the frame of an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu (L) instructs a craftswoman as the latter makes an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu checks the quality of an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman makes an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman makes an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman makes an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu prints a pattern of oil-paper umbrella with a stone plate in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu draws a pattern of oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu prints a pattern of oil-paper umbrella with a stone plate in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman applies tung oil on the cover of an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Tourists visit a cultural block themed on oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 11, 2025 shows freshly made oil-paper umbrellas being aired in a yard in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
Bi Liufu shows an oil-paper umbrella with traditional patterns in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
A craftswoman applies tung oil on the cover of an oil-paper umbrella in Fenshuiling Town of Luzhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)
