Getting into the courtyard of Erxat Ibrayim’s walnut wooden processing workshop in Bageqi city, a gaggle of Uygur ladies sit at an extended desk sprucing freshly carved walnut wooden bowls that give off a faint, resinous scent.
Propped on a stand, a smartphone live-streams the scene to an unseen viewers. Behind them, cabinets stacked excessive with wood pots, ladles and trays kind a textured backdrop.
Each few seconds, a message flashes throughout the display, inquiring concerning the measurement and color of those walnut wooden gadgets. The Uygur ladies reply enthusiastically, lifting every bit in the direction of the lens for nearer inspection.
“We’ve got discovered an sudden but devoted viewers throughout the nation,” mentioned Erxat, who opened the walnut wooden processing workshop in Hotan prefecture within the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous area about 5 years in the past.
The merchandise vary from small kitchen utensils, equivalent to rolling pins, promoting for 19 yuan (£1.97), to giant customized slicing boards priced at over 1,000 yuan (£103).
The most well-liked gadgets are midsized boards, usually retailing from 140 yuan (£14.5) to 400 yuan (£41.4), relying on width.
“Every bit is greater than a kitchen instrument. They’re created from stable, pure, pure wooden, freed from glue, laminate, paint or chemical coatings,” mentioned Erxat, a person in his 30s initially from Urumqi, the area’s capital.
“The broader the board, the older the tree, and the more durable the wooden is to supply with out flaws,” he mentioned, emphasising the worth of the merchandise.
Getting into the yard, the air grows heavier with the uncooked, earthy scent of walnut wooden. Towering stacks of thick, rough-hewn planks lean towards the partitions, their darkish grain glinting below the solar.
Just a few artisans sit cross-legged on low stools, chisels in hand, carving shapes out of the dense wooden. The regular faucet of mallets echoes like a heartbeat, whereas walnut shavings curl to the bottom, gathering at their ft like scattered petals.
Their focus contrasts with the full of life chatter from the entrance courtyard, rendering the workshop each a digital market and historic stage presenting a centuries-old craft.
Walnut wooden carving stands as one of many area’s most treasured intangible cultural traditions. For greater than 200 years, artisans have formed this resilient, close-grained wooden into bowls, spoons and ornaments, following time-honoured strategies that rely totally readily available instruments and persistence.
“Every bit of walnut wooden should dry naturally for one to one-and-a-half years. This slow-aging course of permits the wooden to launch inside stresses, lowering the danger of later warping or cracking,” Erxat mentioned.
“There’s no technological shortcut to stability, and time is the one factor that makes wooden dependable.”
But, with the rise of recent supplies and waning curiosity from youthful generations, this centuries-old craft slipped into decline.
In 2020, Erxat and his spouse set out on an entrepreneurial journey throughout southern Xinjiang.
In Hotan, they stumbled upon workshops that had as soon as buzzed with the rhythm of chisels and carving knives however stood quiet upon their arrival.
Struck by each the fragility and the fantastic thing about this fading craft, the couple made the choice to construct a profession in reviving it.
They started by promoting present stock via Douyin, the Chinese language model of TikTok, whereas selling the profound historical past and tradition behind walnut woodcrafting.
Inside months, the native artisans’ inventory bought out. They determined to open their very own workshop, using greater than 20 individuals, together with greater than a dozen heritage craftsmen.
Along with opening on-line gross sales channels, the couple employed grasp wooden carvers to refine the craftsmanship and introduced in skilled designers to infuse walnut wooden merchandise with trendy components that attraction to up to date tastes.
In addition they established a full manufacturing base, giving the intangible heritage a brand new lease on life.
Most significantly, youthful generations have joined in carrying the craft ahead.
Alim Mamatimin, in his 20s, joined Erxat’s workshop in 2021.
He had been studying the standard walnut wooden manufacturing course of since his childhood from his father and has since mastered the craft.
“I can produce greater than 20 handmade walnut wooden merchandise day by day,” he mentioned.
With beautiful craftsmanship and laborious work, his month-to-month earnings has reached over 15,000 yuan (£1,550).
“Since working right here, our lives have gotten more and more higher,” he mentioned.
