Two students from the Qiangshu School in Maqiao of Minhang district perform the hand lion dance at the Shanghai International Hobbycraft Expo in December. [PHOTO BY GAO ERQIANG/CHINA DAILY]

Old craft, young learners

Among the performers at the expo were students from Qiangshu School of Maqiao town in Minhang district. Unlike the traditional lion dance where two people are needed to don a costume to perform, Maqiao has a miniature version called shoushiwu, which literally means "hand lion dance".

This art form originated more than 300 years ago as a popular street performance during the lantern festival, a major Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar Chinese calendar. In 2010, shoushiwu was recognized as one of the national intangible cultural heritages.

Besides teaching students how to perform this art form, Qiangshu School also offers classes on how to craft these puppets.

"Maqiao is home to the Qizhong Tennis Center. Every year during the Tennis Masters, our students would perform hand lion dances on the tennis court for guests from all over the world," says Gong Minying, a teacher of the school.

"When we first introduced the lion dance to the art class, children made lion faces with colorful clay. Once they opened up and used their imagination, the students created all kinds of forms and images that are so beautiful."

One major highlight of this year's expo was a series of classes given by inheritors of China's intangible cultural heritage, who taught visitors some of the basic skills required for their craft. Yang Qinghong said that it was not easy for artists to compress the fundamentals of complex handicrafts into one-hour sessions.

Craftsmen and young artists from the Shanghai University Art Academy also worked together to design programs that allowed participants to experience the fun and fulfillment of creation. By getting to work on something themselves, visitors got to experience the beauty and craftsmanship and fall in love with the heritage of China, Yang Qinghong adds.