Beijing Women's Federation

The second episode of this year's Experience Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritages with Smart Lady series activity was successfully held at Yang Fan Dough Modeling Studio at Xiji town, in Tongzhou district, Beijing, on May 29. Yang Fan, a dough modeling craftswoman, demonstrated her consummate skill in this handicraft art and showed the spirit of Beijing women in striving for excellence in life with their own wisdom and intelligence.

Yang Fan (L), a dough modeling master in Beijing, demonstrates dough modeling skills through livestreaming.

Innovation and inheritance

Dough modeling is often seen as a traditional handicraft on occasions like Spring Festival temple fairs, New Year's Eve dinners, and birthday dinners. Regarding this situation, Yang, a representative inheritor of this intangible cultural heritage, feels that the inheritance and development of this craft involves great responsibility. She has successively trained 26 inheritors, and has made efforts such as dough modeling skills training for women and expanding online and offline sales channels to let more people know about the craft. Yang has also developed creative dough modeling products, bringing the intangible cultural heritage closer to the lives of the public while inheriting the traditional skill.

Yang Fan's works displayed during the livestreaming

The dough modeling works made by Yang Fan

Polishing and upgrading

Xiji town is located on the bank of North Canal and Chaobai River, enjoying plenty of sunshine and rain. It is rich in fruits such as cherry and strawberry. Three years ago, Yang came to Xiji as an expert to help with wheat growing. The locals became familiar with this intangible cultural heritage master who worked in the fields, and called her "a woman married to wheat." Yang said: "Whether a dough modeling work is good or not depends on the quality of the wheat. I am building a wheat museum in Xiji, which will help people know more about wheat."

Yang Fan (L) presents her works to netizens through a livestreaming platform.

Yang's mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are all craftswomen engaged in dough modeling. She was influenced by her family and has learned the skills since she was a child. She then studied with Chen Sujing, a dough modeling master from Heze city, East China's Shandong Province. In order to carry forward the traditional craft, Yang attended postgraduate courses in winemaking, chemistry and cultural industry in her spare time. The interdisciplinary background provided theoretical support for dough composition analysis, prevention of dough cracking and development of the dough modeling industry. Whether it's edible or done for visual effect alone, Yang's dough modeling is always vivid. Her works have won awards in the Beijing Handicraft Skills Competition for three consecutive years since 2014. Her unique dough modeling skills have also won the appreciation of international friends, and she won the gold medal of the 2016 Milan Expo China Art Exhibition.

Leadership and development

Through developing the dough modeling industry, Yang has led fellow women to increase their income. Yang operates a number of flour mills, dough modeling companies and offline pastry shops, and has become a supplier of foodstuff brand Daoxiangcun and digital retailing solution provider Dmall.

She established a dough modeling base where she organizes skill training courses for rural women, providing about 1,000 training services and activities. She has helped poverty alleviation through offering skill training in Xiji town in Beijing, Naiman Banner, Ongniud Banner, Horqin Youyi Middle Banner in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Laiyuan county and Zhangjiakou city of Hebei. During the peak of COVID-19 epidemic in China, under the guidance of the Beijing Women's Federation (BWF), Yang taught video courses on dough modeling to encourage women to cook at home. She also sold products through livestreaming for Xiji town, Yuxinzhuang and Wangshang villages in Tongzhou District.

Yang Fan (R) communicates with consumers at a county fair.

In the latest livestreamed program, Yang taught the anchors how to make dough modeling. With scissors, tweezers, pressing plates and other tools, they produced vivid peony flowers. As a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Yang has led women to produce a series of works on the theme "56 ethnic groups celebrating the CPC Centenary."

Yang Fan (L) makes dough modeling works. 

A dough model imaging renowned Chinese respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan

The dough modeling works made by Yang Fan

Through the program, Yang, as a craftswoman, industry leader and innovator, shared the experience of a Beijing Smart Lady inheriting and developing the intangible cultural heritage, devoting herself to rural revitalization and leading women to escape poverty and increase their income.

By cooperating with Guangming Online to create programs broadcast live, BWF has shown images of women from all walks of life to netizens around the world, demonstrated colorful family and children's activities, gaining nearly 10 million views. BWF will further enrich the content of the international communications, present the development of Beijing's women and children from multiple angles, and convey the Chinese women's self-respect, self-confidence self-reliance and self-improvement to the world.