In response to the national "One Belt, One Road" strategy - a concept put forward by President Xi Jinping for the revival of the ancient land and Maritime Silk Road route - and the national strategy of developing Yunnan Province into China's "bridgehead" to Southeast Asia, Yunnan has taken full advantage of its geographical proximity to the region, as well as its preexisting network of human resources, tourism, culture and commerce, to expand cultural exchanges with Southeast Asian countries; as well as Europe and North America. Yunnan has pushed forward with its development of cultural exchange, communication and trade;and has developed its export channels and capacity of cultural products and services. As a result, Yunnan's cultural industry has entered the global market with large measure of success. In addition, the province has carved out a development path with its own characteristics.

Wang Chaoyang

Wang Chaoyang's accomplishments can be largely accredited to his experience in learning jade-carving in Beijing. After 20 years of hard work, he has produced countless masterpieces, demonstrating extraordinary skills, innovative themes and profound cultural values. His works are not only influential among jade-carving professionals, but also resonate with people from various walks of life. His sculptures, ingeniously designed, expressive and innovative, attempt to achieve an equilibrium between his own artistic conception and a contemporary style. For Wang Chaoyang, jade-carving is his way of telling the time.

Jade Carving art work by Wang Chaoyang [Photo provided to Chinadaily.com.cn]

Dong Chunyu

Dong Chunyu graduated from the Craft and Fine Arts Department of Nanyang Institute of Technology College in 1993. Dong can be regarded as China's jade-carving master, senior craft artist, national senior technician and founder of the Chunyu Arts Studio. He depicts real-life human characters in most of his carvings by combining Chinese and Western styles. He has won dozens of national awards, including the Tiangong Gold Award, Baihua Gold Award, Chinese Dragon Gold Award, and nearly a hundred provincial and municipal awards. In addition, Dong has been awarded honorary titles of Yunnan Jade-carving Master and China's Jade-carving Master. He also appears as a guest lecturer at the Jewelry Department of Dehong Teachers' College and the Jewelry Institute of West Yunnan Applied Technologies College, where he has nurtured and trained many jade-carving professionals.

Jade Carving art work by Dong Chunyu [Photo provided to Chinadaily.com.cn]

Edited by Ge Jieru and Jacob Hooson