Photos: the first village of clay sculpture in China—village of clay sculpture in Fengxiang County

On June 19, the interview group themed with " Voice of Shaanxi ,Via Which We Communicate With The World" came to Liuying Village, praised as thefirst village of clay sculpture in China. The group focused on intangibleculture and the construction of new countryside. (Photography by An Xin)

In ancient times, Fengxiang County was called Xiang where was the birthplace ofthe Qin Dynasty and one of the nine regions of ancient China. It's a famoushistorical county and the important passage of ancient silk road. The name ofYong was out of an old Chinese saying "phoenix sings in Qi, and flies inYong". ( Photography by An Xin)

In recent years, people in Fengxiang County have been dedicating themselves tocreating a village with folk cultures and developing tourism. In accordancewith the idea of “spreading clay sculpture, creating quality products anddriving tourism”, they actively build the folk culture village. LiuyingVillage, marked by the inheritance of folk crafts and the characteristic ofclay sculpture, has begun to take shape after the renovation of Clay SculptureStreet, the improvement of Jincun Road, the build of Fengjing Wall and parkinglot, the hardening of Huancun Road, and the completion of Tourist Center, ClaySculpture Square and Clay Sculpture Archway. ( Photography by An Xin)

Clay sculpture and wood New Year picture of the County are the first batch ofnational intangible cultural heritage protection projects and enjoy high reputationat home and abroad. Fengxiang clay sculpture is one of the four sculptures ofChinese folk culture. It is famous for its courageous and lovely shape, vividand bright colors, fully expressed lines as well as romantic and magicalpatterns. It is praised by UNESCO as “the best gift for children”. ( Photography by An Xin)

A number of arts and crafts masters, inheritors and representatives such as HuXinmin, Jing Ping and Hu Xiaohong have been cultivated. They not only inheritthe traditional crafts of clay sculpture, but also achieve innovation inmaterials, processes and shapes. which have been passed to villagers. ( Photography by An Xin)

70% of people in the village engage in clay production which has been animportant way for villagers to increase their income. In 2017, the output valuewas 52 million yuan. ( Photography by An Xin)

With the clay horse and goat designed on the zodiac stamps, and especiallyFengwei Rooster was taken as the mascot of the 2017 CCTV Spring FestivalEvening, the influence of Liuying clay sculpture greatly increased. Since theSpring Festival this year, more than 200, 000 tourists have visited LiuyingVillage. ( Photography by An Xin)

It was told that these gorgeous patterns were painted by local villagers. Itusually takes half an hour or more to finish a work. carefulness and patienceare necessary and indispensable make a perfect work. (Photography by An Xin)

In addition to clay sculpture, its Wood New Year Picture also enjoys a highreputation and is known as one of China's eight woodcut New Year pictures. Allof them are hand-carved, printed by local method, partially hand-painted anddyed. The style is simple and natural, the appearance is exaggerated and fullyexpressed, the color contrast is strong. The distinctive western loess styleand regional art characteristic are fully expressed. (Photography by An Xin)

Fengxiang folk art began in the pre-Qin Dynasty, flourished in the Tang andSong Dynasties and developed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Inherited forthousands of years, It contains rich elements of Chinese culture and is thecrystallization of Eastern wisdom. ( Photography byAn Xin)