Yang Guoming introduces the production process of the mini Qiwan Golden Dragon. [Photo by Xia Shengquan]

A red brick building in Qiwan Village, East District, is named the "Sun and Moon Building." In the middle of a third floor studio, which has an area of about 20 square meters, sits a small scale "Little Golden Dragon". It was produced to join the 2019 China (Guangdong) Folk Arts and Crafts Fair. 

With a backdrop of rural revitalization, East District has increased its investment in public cultural undertakings in recent years. Yang Guoming, the successor of the Qiwan Golden Dragon, felt that he has a great responsibility when he "holds the pole position". "Now I feel that time is too short. I cherish the good times very much, and I want to use my strengths to pass on and innovate the important traditions," he said.

Yang Guoming's father and ancestors were all master handcraft artists in their village. In fact, Yang is a fifth generation master handcraft artist. When he was 5, he learned the art of handcrafting from his uncle and father. Since then, he has obtained a profound set of skills.

Yang said that the Qiwan Golden Dragon has been showcased in the annual Charity Parade for more than 30 years and attracted great attention. "Each year at that time, young people in the village will come back and perform the dragon dance. It has become a new custom in the village," stated Yang. 

In 2012, the handcraft work of the Qiwan Golden Dragon was selected to the municipal intangible cultural heritage list, and Yang Guoming was also awarded the title of Representative Successor of Qiwan Golden Dragon Handcraft. 

All the family members of Yang were involved in the production of the Golden Dragon; his family is known as the "Home of Golden Dragon", The dragon's hand-sewn skirt, made of colored cloth, was created by his wife Sun Suna and his sister Yang Yuqun. Using iron wire and rattan, Yang Guoming kept the weight of the dragon's head under 15 kilograms. This light weight makes the dragon's head is much easier to hold for dancing. 

Yang Guoming's two sons, Yang Daqi and Yang Dahua, both studied design and graduated with art majors. "When they were young, they used to help me make Golden Dragons, and they also gave me some new ideas. For the past 40 years, my family's support has been my constant motivation to make Golden Dragons." 

Since 2013, Yang has been invited to teach children how to do handcrafts in their school. In 2018, Qiwan community in East District launched a series of activities such as the "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Campus" and "Becoming Descendants of the Qiwan Golden Dragon". 

Yang Guoming has been thinking about how to make it funnier and easier to teach children to make handcrafts. "I hope to simplify some of the steps, and draw some simple dragons with cartoons," he added.