China’s disappearing traditions: Carvings in lime, singing Yue

Chinese Culture

As China continues to grow through industrialization, many of its time-honored arts are disappearing.

Traditions like lime carvings and the Yue Opera have long histories, but they face a big hurdle in finding caretakers among the next generation.

Yue Opera is the second largest opera genre in China. However the shortage of new plays, an aging audience, and the poor condition of performance venues make the opera hard to remain popular.

Luqiao Lime Carving is a very traditional local culture in Taizhou, a city in southeastern China. The lack of successors and the disappearing market needs have this craft on edge.