Sichuan has two craft traditions that are still alive and still made by hand: lacquerware and bamboo weaving. Both are protected as intangible cultural heritage, both have workshops around Chengdu, and both produce objects light and durable enough to carry home.
Chengdu lacquerware
Lacquer work in Sichuan goes back at least two thousand years, and Chengdu was a major centre of it in the Han dynasty. The technique involves building up many thin layers of sap from the lacquer tree over a wooden or fabric core, then carving, painting or inlaying the surface. Chengdu's tradition is known for carved lacquer, where patterns are cut into accumulated layers so that different colours show through, and for decoration in red, black and gold. Boxes, trays, tea caddies, jewellery cases and small pieces of furniture are the usual forms.
Bamboo weaving
Sichuan's bamboo weaving is a separate tradition with its own centres in the province, including the well-known weaving workshops of Qingshen, east of Chengdu. Fine work is done with bamboo split down to threads a fraction of a millimetre thick, then woven into panels that can carry images, calligraphy and portraits. Everyday goods - baskets, steamers, mats, fish traps, lampshades and furniture - use thicker splits and are made quickly, while the exhibition pieces take months. Chengdu shops and craft centres sell both, and a number of them demonstrate weaving on site.
Where to see and buy
The intangible heritage and craft centres in Chengdu, the museum shops, and the larger craft stores around Jinli and the Wide and Narrow Alley are the easiest places to look at finished work, though prices there are aimed at visitors. Buy from a workshop directly, or from a shop that can tell you who made a piece, and the price is usually lower and the quality clearer. Lacquerware should feel light for its size with a smooth, deep surface and no smell of solvent; good bamboo weaving should be even and tight, with no gaps where the split has been forced.
Practical notes
Both crafts travel well. Lacquer objects should be kept out of direct sunlight and away from water; they are robust but dislike heat. Bamboo should be kept dry and away from damp, where it can mould. If you are buying for export, note that objects made from bamboo may be subject to plant-health inspection in some countries, and lacquerwork is occasionally restricted for customs reasons, so check your own country's rules before buying large pieces.
