(CFP)

The sale of Huishan clay figurine, a time-honored folk craft with a history of about 400 years, has increased significantly after being featured at China’s Spring Festival Gala.

Zhou Lu, a craftswoman from Huishan Clay Figure Factory, said delivery dates for the orders had to be continuously postponed since the figurines are all handcrafted. Other new versions also received hundreds of pre-bookings within days of launch, said Zhou.

Established in 1954, Huishan Clay Figure Factory relied heavily on traditional products until 2020, and its consumer base primarily consisted of local elderly people in Wuxi City, with little appeal to younger generations. Since September 2020, the factory began innovative transformations following a change in ownership and the introduction of private investment.

Considering Chinese fans of manga, anime and video games, the factory developed new products called "NANIMOMO" (a Wuxi dialect pronunciation of Huishan Clay Figurines). It also opened several NANIMOMO cafés in tourist areas like Nanchang Street, which display and sell traditional clay figurines alongside newly developed trendy toys, representing a new marketing strategy.

The factory has also innovated with products like Mid-Autumn Festival lamps and humidifiers that creatively incorporate clay figurine elements.

Wuxi is home to 11 national-level intangible cultural heritage items, including fine embroidery, bamboo carving and Yixing purple clay teapots. As one of the four sub-venues of this year's Spring Festival Gala, the city has fully utilized this mega-event to promote its cultural heritage, boosting confidence of local artisans.

Wuxi has also supported the preservation of intangible cultural heritage by opening classes about musical instrument Erhu and traditional Wuxi Opera at 70 primary and secondary schools.

There are also 18 workshops led by inheritors of national intangible cultural heritage projects or items across Jiangnan University, Wuxi Open University and Wuxi Vocational Institute of Commerce, among other higher learning institutions.