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Talented farmers are growing new markets

By Tan Yingzi and Qin Zhongwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-25 08:45

A showcase of rural crafts has been pulling in the crowds at Beijing's Bird's Nest - or the National Stadium - and Water Cube as farmers from the city's suburbs demonstrated their extraordinary craftsmanship.

A girl takes a photo of a peacock lantern at a handicrafts show near the Bird's Nest and Water Cube on Friday featuring Beijing suburban farmers' extraordinary craftsmanship. [Wang Jing]

Dozens of white tents were put up in the square between the two architectural landmarks to host the traditional artists and people came to check out the event - an attraction that appealed to tourists from all over the world.

Colorful beads accessories, vivid plastic flowers, ingenious dough sculptures, whistling paper windmills, traditional woodcarving calabash and even violins were testimony to the fact that Chinese farmers have been growing their creative skills in addition to their crops.

Farmers earned an average of 4,761 yuan ($680) last year, an 8 percent increase on the year before, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, and much of their income, almost half, came from non-farming sources such as producing arts and crafts, something that is being encouraged by the central government.

Wang Ai, a farmer-turned-entrepreneur from Miyun county, started her workshop in 2003, making beads, bags and plastic flowers.

Within six years, she had developed her business to annual sales of 5 million yuan ($700,000) and a staff of more than 100.

"I have been so busy promoting my business model to farmers throughout the country," she said.

The three-day exhibition ends on Saturday in the Chinese capital.