An Enthusiast for Jiangzhou New Year Wood Engravings in Shanxi

Wu Baisuo, a retiree from the Xinjiang county culture bureau, is fascinated with making local New Year wood engravings. He has put two million yuan ($300,000) into collecting and protecting old wood engravings, wood blocks, and paintings over decades. He has visited many senior wood engraving craftsmen to learn their skills.

The Jiangzhou New Year wood engraving is an intangible cultural heritage in Shanxi. It was created in the Song (960-1279) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties and thrived in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

In 2007, Wu set up a research organization, committed to the collection, filing, research, and creation of Jiangzhou wood engravings. "I would like to teach the skills for free if anyone is interested in it and is willing to study hard," said Wu, in hope that more young people will like wood engravings.