Yangjiabu: The Sparkling Pearl of Traditional Art

Yangjiabu is the birthplace of Weifang kites with a long history. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the kite ancestors had superb skills and integrated New Year paintings with kites. There is a saying that "it is a kite when it is put in the sky, and a New Year painting when it is hung on the wall." Yangjiabu is the main producing area of Chinese folk New Year paintings, which originated in the Ming Dynasty. It has a long history and unique artistic style. Yangjiabu New Year paintings originated in the early years of the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Hongwu, and developed to its peak from the reign of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty to the end of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, more than 600 years ago. It is known as one of the "Four Major New Year Painting Production Areas in China" along with Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin, and Mianzhu in Sichuan. The New Year Painting Museum in Yangjiabu Folk Art Grand View Garden exhibits fine New Year paintings from past dynasties, including my favorite "The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" and "Top Scholar Paying Respects to the Pagoda." 📍Address: Yangjiabu Tourism Development Zone, Hanting District, Weifang, Shandong 🎫Tickets: CNY 60 (half price for students/seniors) ⏰Opening hours: 8:30–17:30 🍜Food temptation: Snack street, comfortable to walk, eat, and stroll! Especially Weifang meat shaobing + Chaotian pot, 🈶carbohydrates are really happy! 🎓Attraction introduction 📍Kite Museum: Displays the origin and development of kites and the artistic characteristics of Yangjiabu kites, with various exquisite kite exhibits. 📍Woodblock New Year Painting Museum: Introduces the origin and history of Yangjiabu New Year paintings, and displays many traditional woodblock New Year paintings, showing exquisite production techniques. 📍Ancient Shop Street: Antique buildings with traditional handicraft shops, snack stalls, etc., where you can feel the ancient commercial atmosphere. 📍Folk Museum: Displays traditional folk culture in the Weifang area through physical objects and scene restoration, such as wedding customs and farming customs. 📍Cultural Relics Museum: Collects and displays local historical relics, witnessing the ancient civilization and development context of the Weifang area. 📍Chang'e Flying to the Moon Platform: There are related legendary themed buildings and landscapes, adding a romantic and mysterious color. 🎓Recommended route New Year Painting Exhibition Hall → Kite Painting Hall → Kite Making Hall → Ancient Shop Street → Old Site of "Deshengheng" Painting Shop Chang'e Flying to the Moon Platform → Yangjiabu Painting and Calligraphy Academy → Yangjiabu Cultural Relics Museum → Yangjiabu Painting Shop → Treasure Hall → Folk Custom Courtyard → New Year Painting Gallery → Kite Museum. 🌟Highlights: Yangjiabu New Year paintings and Weifang kites have both been listed as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. Yangjiabu is the main producing area of Chinese folk New Year paintings, which originated in the Ming Dynasty. It has a long history and unique artistic style. It expresses the farmers' wishes for blessings, good luck, and a better life through symbolic, allegorical, and exaggerated techniques. New Year paintings have a wide range of themes and rich content. There are more than ten types, mainly including door paintings, beauty strips, Mao Fangzi, golden boys, horizontal batches, and Fu characters. Yangjiabu New Year paintings are world-renowned for their concise lines, bright colors, strong contrast, full composition, rich imagination, and profound meaning. Yangjiabu is the birthplace of Weifang kites with a long history. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the kite ancestors had superb skills and integrated New Year paintings with kites. There is a saying that "it is a kite when it is put in the sky, and a New Year painting when it is hung on the wall." Its composition is simple and beautiful, the images are vivid and lifelike, and it is full of charm and artistic charm, forming its own major genre - Yangjiabu kite genre. The content of the kites is auspicious and festive, including birds, animals, insects, and fish kites, as well as plate-style and hard-winged kites, and string-style and soft-winged kites. The 350m-long dragon centipede made for the Kite Festival is known as the "world's largest". ❤