[Video/WeChat account: jshmrb]

Lu Shankang, 70, a bamboo-weaving expert in Haimen, Nantong, started weaving articles with bamboo when he was 16 years old to earn bread and butter.

Bamboo weaving articles, including steamers, dustpans, mats, and baskets, used to be articles of everyday use before plastic products were invented.

The bamboo weaving articles made by Lu Shankang. [Photo/WeChat account: jshmrb]

"Bamboo must grow for three years before it can be cut for weaving," said Lu, who will select different bamboos based on the orders he receives.

These bamboos can be weaved only after it is sliced, the green surface is scraped off, and it is steamed. It has a clearer texture after these processes and complicated Chinese words can be engraved into the bamboo splint.

Lu said that it is harder than it looks and he spent years improving his bamboo weaving skills.

Lu and other bamboo weaving workers' jobs were threatened in the 1990s by the popularity of plastic products. Being more skillful than his peers, Lu entered a local bamboo and wood handicraft factory and started making handicraft art with bamboo.

Lu makes a bamboo weaving article. [Photo/WeChat account: jshmrb]

For Lu, bamboo weaving has gone from a way to simply make a living to a passion. In 2020, he was selected as a representative inheritor of bamboo weaving – an intangible cultural heritage item of Haimen.

Over the past few decades, Lu has made more than 30,000 bamboo weavings, some of which have been exported to other countries.

Some of Lu's works are on display at the Liuxiban Streets of Zhang Jian Culture Town. He also currently gives lectures on bamboo weaving and teaches tourists how to weave with bamboo in hopes of promoting the craft.