Qiaochuifang Workshop opens China-Africa woodcarving exchange in Jinhua

Huang Xiaoming and African artists carve wood to open the fourth Qiaochuifang Workshop program. [Photo/Tide News]

The fourth Qiaochuifang Workshop — China-Africa Woodcarving Handcraft Creation Exchange Program launched on Oct 21 at the Huang Xiaoming Woodcarving Museum in Jinhua, Zhejiang province.

The workshop, named after Chui, a legendary craftsman from the era of Yao (about 4,300 years ago), is a longstanding handicraft exchange platform promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to advance China-Africa mutual learning. It first came to Jinhua in 2023.

The 30-day program brings together 12 African woodcarving artists from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and 16 arts and crafts students from the Republic of the Congo studying at Zhejiang Guangsha Vocational and Technical University of Construction in Dongyang county-level city.

A professional team led by Huang Xiaoming, a Chinese arts and crafts master and representative inheritor of Dongyang woodcarving, a national intangible cultural heritage item, will hold in-depth discussions and create works of art with the African artists. The creations center on themes such as harmony, cultural preservation, and cultural integration.

At the launch, suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) performances and opera excerpts showcased Zhejiang folk art, while African artists performed lively songs and dances.

Huang and African artists then carved wood together at a "first carving ceremony," opening a new chapter in artistic exchange, mutual learning, and collaboration between China and Africa.