The exhibition hall at a lantern cultural-industry base in Zhuanglang County, northwest China's Gansu Province, features an eye-catching array of lanterns of diverse colors and shapes.
Located in Shuiluo Township, the lantern cultural-industry base has undergone rapid development in recent years, playing an important role in increasing villagers' incomes.
The craft of making palace lanterns has a history spanning over a millennium in China, originating in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and flourishing during the Sui (81-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. Zhuanglang County boasts a longstanding tradition of handmade palace lanterns.
A new chapter in the county's emerging lantern industry in the modern era began with Song Xiaoxia, a villager from Diaogou Village.
In late 2017, Song, with rich experience in e-commerce, noticed a surge in demand for red lanterns ahead of the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year. She placed an order for lanterns and visited a lantern manufacturer.
Song discovered that the craft of lantern-making is not complex, the workload is manageable and the working hours are relatively flexible. She decided that this combination of factors made it an ideal form of employment for villagers seeking work close to home.
"In addition to our rich tradition of making palace lanterns, our villagers possess the skills to create better products," she said.
In 2018, Song started employing villagers to start lantern production. One year later, she established a workshop with the support of the local government and later founded a company.
The company's output value totaled 4 million yuan (about 562,382 U.S. dollars) in 2020, providing more than 100 jobs for local residents.
The base is now engaged in large-scale production and is even providing customized services for bespoke designs.
In the plant's various workshops, villagers can be seen performing specialized tasks. Meng Jinlong from Guopu Village is in charge of the machine at the injection-molding workshop. "We use recycled discarded plastic for the lantern bases of various sizes," said Meng.
Zhang Yinjuan, 37, draws lines on about 400 lanterns daily, earning 0.3 yuan per lantern. Zhang said that working at the factory helps her cover household expenses, while the flexible working hours allow her to take care of the children and elderly relatives.
Inspired by the success of Song's venture, more than 20 lantern factories have been established in the county, offering about 1,000 jobs to local residents and contributing to an average income of over 20,000 yuan per person.