Artisan's passion on oil paper umbrella pays off

Now Li has two more stores, one in Danzhai in Guizhou and another in Sichuan province. Of her three children, only her eldest son, who is 36, helps with the business, running the store in Danzhai. Her daughter is married in Beijing, while her youngest son is a Grade-3 high school student. Li hopes he will major in art and help her design umbrellas in the future.

Over the years, she has had several apprentices but most are no longer in the business. "When a craftsman has to worry about food and clothing, they cannot work wholeheartedly. I like to teach, but few want to learn," she said.

One of her students, a teenage girl from a single parent family of five children, dropped out of school, because they were too poor for her to continue. Li offered her accommodations and training. The girl was a good learner, but after a year, her mother passed away, and as the firstborn, she was forced to find other work to support the family.

Li recruits locals, mostly unemployed women from nearby villages. She takes her umbrellas to exhibitions, and maintains contact with other intangible cultural heritage inheritors. But most of time, she prefers to sit drinking tea, making umbrellas and talking to fellow umbrella lovers from all over.

One of her regulars, a 38-year-old woman surnamed Cai, has bought eight oilpaper umbrellas from Li since 2016. She uses them on rainy and sunny days, matching them with her outfits. "It is a classic item with great cultural meaning. I don't use ordinary umbrellas anymore," Cai said. "I like Li's hand-painted umbrellas. They're pretty, good quality and nicely priced. She offers free maintenance, too."

Wang Jin in Guiyang contributed to this story.