By Yuling Chen, EDITOR

“There’s a ‘Dalitang’ (auditorium) and a ‘Yulitang’ in Chongqing. There’s no ‘Yulitang’ in the ‘Dalitang’, but there’re many ‘Dalitangs’ in the ‘Yulitang’. Have you seen so many ‘Dalitangs’...

Creative cultural items (Photo by Yang Xinyue)

On the platform of “Douyin”, one of the most popular Chinese short video apps, a man with his screen name called “Yulitang” became popular! Tens of “Chongqing People’s Auditoriums” appear in his “tongue twister” videos successively. You can find everything with Chongqing characteristics in these videos, including coasters, paintings, and postcards. Netizens have left messages in succession that Chongqing should have such an auditorium of literature and art!”

Stilted houses on the cover (Photo by Yang Xinyue)

The anchor is called Ou Yang, who loves Chongqing culture very much. Therefore, he transformed his house into a “cultural and creative museum of old Chongqing”. Combing the traditions with the characteristic culture of Chongqing, he created a “tongue twister”, which attracted numerous fans and became popular rapidly.

Various patterns are on such articles as the Xiabu (a kind of cloth) paintings, Shu Xiu (Shu Embroidery), Chongqing lacquerware, and table screen ornaments of Chongqing People’s Auditorium. These patterns include the scenes of traditional folk activities, unique landscape like stilt houses, Hongyadong, and the “confluence of Two Rivers” (the Yangtze River and Jialing River), as well as online popular scenic spots like the “CRT train running through high-rise buildings”.

Most design ideas of these articles come from Ou Yang, with which the professional intangible cultural heritage craftsmen in Chongqing will complete them. At present, Ou Yang possesses about 300 varieties of these articles, which mainly include original Bayu-style works, with the most distinctive ones being Xiabu and Shu Xiu.

“Most of the traditional Xiabu paintings come from folklife. I have promoted the cooperation between traditional craftsmen and professional designers to make these works with unique symbols and crafts of Chongqing.”

Later, Ou Yang is going to introduce some new categories of works to help the public know more interesting traditional folk crafts of Chongqing. At present, some works are in preparation, including the Bayu-style silver table screen articles with lacquer paintings, the series of silver ornaments of Antao (pottery made in Anfu Subdistrict), metal bookmarks of Dazu Rock Carvings, and hand-painted Bayu-style decorative plates made from bone porcelain by masters.

Source: CQCB