A folk crafts expo in the Gui'an New Area of Guizhou province, Sept 24-28, saw the signing of handicraft and creative folk art contracts worth 11-billion yuan ($1.7 billion) on the first day alone.

Opening ceremony of the 1st China (Guizhou) International Folk Crafts and Cultural Products Expo, in the Gui'an New Area, Guizhou province, on Sept 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chen Ping, the vice-president of the International Folk Art Organization, the sponsor, remarking that it really helps the folk arts business in Guizhou.

Chen went on to explain by saying, "Guizhou is rich in traditional handicrafts and ethnic arts, but many of them face the risk of dying out because their traditional producing methods cannot keep pace with modern developments."

Chen added, "Hopefully this expo will make Guizhou artisans more enthusiastic about creativity and innovation and encourage them to find ways to use traditional techniques in modern ways."

People from 30 countries brought folk crafts and cultural products to the expo to share their experience and ideas on wood carving, lace-making, tin ware, weaving and egg painting.