Yangjiabu Folk Art Village

Yangjiabu is a village north of Weifang city that has preserved — and to some extent revived — its tradition of New Year woodblock prints and kite production. The woodblock printing tradition here is recognized as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, one of the more vivid examples of a folk art that was genuinely commercial and culturally significant before modern printing made it obsolete.

Workshops in the village demonstrate the process of carving and printing from wooden blocks, and the results are available for purchase. The kite-making tradition is closely linked — the same paper, ink, and decorative motifs that appeared on prints also appeared on kites, and a number of the village's craftspeople practice both. The village is about 25 kilometers from central Weifang; accessible by bus or taxi.

things to do sight
A story
Yangjiabu's New Year woodblock prints (nianhua) were once distributed throughout northern China as decoration for the lunar new year, with prints depicting door gods, auspicious scenes, and household deities. At the industry's peak in the 19th century, the village had over 100 print workshops producing tens of millions of sheets annually, employing nearly every household.