Giving lacquerware a new shine

Pieces of gold-painted lacquerware and undecorated woodcarvings are showcased at Huang Cailiang's art museum in Ninghai, in Zhejiang province's Ningbo.[Photo by Xiao Da/China Daily]

It also enables visitors to closely observe the manufacturing process and even try making an item.

Today, the art form has become a cultural icon of Ninghai and a laureate of over 30 awards from home and abroad.

Products at Huang's museum are priced from 2,000 to 6,000 yuan ($290-$870). People often buy them as wedding gifts.

"Organizing exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage is far from enough for inheritance and promotion," Huang says.

"It's better to take them out of the exhibition halls and workshops, and let people touch them and closely observe them."