World folk artists gather at Guizhou expo

A woman from Iran demonstrates carpet making technique during the first China (Guizhou) International Folk Crafts and Cultural Products Expo in Guiyang , Guizhou province, Sept 24, 2015. [Photo by Zeng Jun/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first China (Guizhou) International Folk Crafts and Cultural Products Expo opened Thursday in Guiyang, Guizhou province and will run through Wednesday. More than 150 craftsmen from 31 countries will show their crafts and skills. The expo's theme is "Protection, Inheritance, Innovation and Opening".

"Traditional handicraft arts represent human wisdom and inspirations that people obtained from thousands of years of co-existence with nature," Chen Ping, Chairperson of the International Organization of Folk Art (IOV) China said.

"How to utilize traditional techniques in modern life and make people better accept, inherit and develop them are urgent things now," he said. The expo has set up a 30,000–square-meter exhibition area with 235 booths for folk artists around the world to display their unique handicrafts and cultural heritage items.