Primary and middle school students should be taught traditional Chinese handicrafts to keep them from dying out in modern China, an NPC member said.

“Old handicrafts used to play an indispensable role in our lives, but are now giving way to new technology,” said Fu Qiping, secretary of the party committee of Tengtou village in Zhejiang province, “Some local handicrafts, such as the clay figurines of Huishan mountain now exist for the tourist trade, but most are dying out because the young no longer learn such skills.”

These skills include fixing pots and pans, making flour figurines, making bamboo chopsticks, paper cutting and carving seals.

In an interview during the two sessions, Fu suggested that the government survey the present state of traditional skills and then provide financial support to handicraft makers in rural areas so that they can pass on their skills.

He suggested that a best way to prevent these skills from dying out is to teach them to the young, especially teenagers, and elicit their interest in the old culture.