The 4th China Arts and Crafts Expo concluded on Sunday in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, during which more than 1,000 arts and crafts masters showcased and explored new expressions of traditional skills.

At the exhibition site, an eye-catching dining table was carved with 16 places of historical interest including the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the Yellow Crane Tower. Craftsmen used multi-layer technique on this masterpiece, which took nearly three years to complete.

Figure stone is one of the most famous materials for stone carving in China. With the innovation of technology and concepts, the works using figure stone have now developed from button carvings of no more than a few hundred grams to round carvings weighing several tons.

"My most satisfactory works are the four-piece set behind me which indicate good luck, fortune, longevity, and joy, which symbolizes a vision of a better life. New technologies can also play a role in promoting the arts and crafts industry," said Chen Weixin, an arts and crafts artist.

From Suzhou embroidery, stone carving, ceramics to copper art, craftsmen demonstrated their intangible cultural heritage skills on site. Cheng Yuquan, a bronze sculpture master from east China's Zhejiang Province, led the visitors to experience bronze sculpture on the spot. He found that this old craft is being favored by more and more people.

"It was the first time I came into contact with copper art. It's very interesting, so I just tried it myself. Many of the intangible cultural heritage products here are very beautifully made, which make me very interested," said a visitor.

Data from the China Light Industry Federation shows that currently, the arts and crafts industry has an annual revenue of three trillion yuan nationwide, with more than 13 million employees throughout the industry chain, but much remains to be done for the development of the industry.

Relevant departments across the country have introduced a series of supporting policies and measures for talent training. In view of the problems of long production cycle and high price of traditional arts and crafts, practitioners are also constantly trying to broaden the market, to bring arts and crafts closer to people's daily life today.

"[We need to study] how to make our arts works enter people's homes, and how to make the elite art works more creatively land in derivative products, including those compounding different cross-border contents," said Tao Dequan, a ceramic artist.