Recently, at a cultural and creative product studio located in Baimasi Town, within the Chanhe District, Qi Jingyuan, the ninth-generation inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project Clay Sculpture (Huaiyang Clay Dogs), has been teaching students the production techniques of soft clay simulation succulents. Each piece of the soft clay simulation succulent cultural and creative products is rich in color and lifelike in form.
Qi Jingyuan has been fond of sculpting art since childhood. After graduating from university, he studied the art of clay sculpture under Xu Shuzhang, the eighth-generation successor of the clay (Huaiyang clay dogs) tradition. While inheriting traditional skills, Qi Jingyuan innovates and develops the intangible cultural heritage in line with the needs and characteristics of the modern era. He adopts innovative materials such as polymer clay and integrates fashionable and youthful design concepts. He has led the people around Baoma Temple Town to produce polymer clay succulents, polymer clay peonies, and other realistic cultural and creative products, which has helped them increase their income and become prosperous. This has injected new vitality and growth into the intangible cultural heritage skills.
