A special Lunar New Year event titled "Stone Brings Luck, Horse Brings Blessings" launched on February 6 in Hui'an County, Fujian Province, blending the region’s thousand-year stone carving heritage with festive Chinese New Year celebrations. The event, which includes a public participatory stone carving art activity named "Stone Speaker, Symbiotic Imprint," offers domestic and international visitors an artistic experience combining traditional craftsmanship, holiday charm, and community co-creation.
At the Hui'an Carving Art Cultural Park square, the event began with a dance performance titled "Impression of Hui'an Women." Chen Zhiqing, Deputy Director of the County Urban Collective Industry Joint Association and head of the cultural park, stated that the event represents a key effort to deepen the "stone carving+" strategy, revitalize intangible cultural heritage, build an artistic ecosystem, and create a premier showcase platform. Through activities such as lantern exhibitions, master solo exhibitions, public co-creation, and New Year market fairs, the event integrates cultural enrichment with consumer promotion, allowing visitors to appreciate the vitality of traditional culture while enjoying stone art and festive flavors.
The growth of Hui'an's carving art industry has been supported by targeted guidance from relevant authorities. Lin Zhensen, Director of the County Urban Collective Industry Joint Association, emphasized that Hui'an stone carving is undergoing transformation through master leadership and cultural-tourism integration. The event aims to elevate the craft from "skill" to "art" and from "tradition" to "contemporaneity."
The carving industry's development is closely linked with local progress. Shanxia Town, a core hub for Hui'an's carving industry, has played a vital role in nurturing and empowering the sector. Mayor Cai Dunhuang of Shanxia Town noted that while preserving craftsmanship and techniques, the town has also pursued innovation by integrating carving with design and technology, and incorporating it into local governance and livelihood improvements. The event draws on the county’s carving heritage and Shanxia’s unique characteristics, allowing the public to engage with traditional culture through viewing, playing, and tasting, while enjoying Lunar New Year reunions.
The New Year event is organized by the Hui'an County People's Government, in collaboration with several local bodies. Core activities will run until February 8, with themed installations and lantern displays extended to March 4. An exhibition of zodiac-themed文创 works for the Year of the Horse will be displayed until May 10, and a solo exhibition by master carver Zhang Wenshan, titled "Myriad Stone Forms," will continue until June 30.
During the event, the "Stone Speaker, Symbiotic Imprint" activity invites visitors to try stone carving themselves, experiencing the transformation of stone into art. Zhang Wenshan’s solo exhibition showcases diverse expressions of stone carving, while hands-on intangible cultural heritage workshops allow tactile engagement with traditional skills. A New Year market features local specialties and文创 products, and interactive installations themed "Horse Brings Blessings" combine festive symbolism with fun photo opportunities, enhancing the holiday atmosphere.
A representative from Hui'an County highlighted that the multi-phase, multi-dimensional event not only offers a rich cultural feast for visitors but also brings intangible heritage into public daily life through community participation. It further enhances Hui'an’s reputation as the "World Capital of Stone Carving" and "Hometown of Chinese Stone Carving," allowing the millennia-old craft to shine with renewed brilliance in the new era.