China News Service, Yancheng, February 17th: Title: "May 30 Martyr" Gu Zhenghong's hometown: grass and willow "weaving" leads to a road to wealth

　　Author Gu Hua

　　In early spring, while driving on a country road in Zhenghong Town, Binhai County, Jiangsu Province, I saw willow trees growing on both sides of the road and in front and behind farmers' houses. The willow branches swayed in the cold wind.

　　Zhenghong Town, Binhai County, is a township named after Gu Zhenghong, the "May 30 Martyr". It is also the "Hometown of Straw and Willow Weaving" in China. Grass and willow weaving is one of my country's traditional folk handicrafts. It is mainly made of natural materials such as wolfberry and cattail grass. It is simple and simple, beautiful and elegant, and has strong ornamental value and practicality.

Min Siqian made a fruit bowl out of wicker. Photo by Gu Hua

　　Awls, scissors, and steel tape measures are essential tools for weaving straw and wicker products. He strung and bent the wicker sticks with his fingers, and then used an awl to shape the wicker sticks... Min Siqian's dexterous hands shuttled between the wicker sticks. In less than half an hour, dozens of originally straight wicker sticks turned into an exquisite wicker fruit plate.

　　Min Siqian, 71, is the intangible inheritor of Zhenghong grass and willow weaving and has been engaged in the craft of grass and willow weaving for more than 50 years. He introduced that the production of straw willow weaving requires more than ten processes such as material selection, cutting, drawing, splitting, nailing the mold frame, weaving, and rinsing. In order to make the products beautiful, local craftsmen also create patterns such as hollow flowers, rhombus flowers, lotus flowers, and crabapple flowers.

Min Siqian displays straw and willow products. Photo by Gu Hua

　　"Straw wicker weaving is a handmade product. If you want to make a good product, it is very important to choose willow. We all choose qili willow as the raw material. We must also control the humidity of the wicker, otherwise it will slip during the weaving process. The final product is the best There should be no creases. You need to use your fingers to cooperate with each other to let the wicker naturally bend into shape." Talking about the weaving skills, Min Siqian explained.

　　Straw and willow weaving is a craft that many people in Zhenghong Town know. In recent years, the local government has regarded straw and willow weaving as the "key" for villagers to open up the road to wealth, allowing the straw and willow weaving industry to drive villagers to achieve "employment at their doorsteps". Zhenghong Willow Industrial Park adopts the development model of "enterprise + cooperative + farmer". After receiving the order, the enterprise sends the product requirements to the cooperative, and the cooperative then allocates the tasks to the farmers. The farmers can benefit from completing the orders as required.

　　"Every time we receive a new product, Min Si will train us. He will teach us step by step the specifications and production methods of the product." Villager Uncle Liu said that now he sits at home and weaves products every day, and can make three or four products a month. Thousand dollars of income.

The Zhenghong Town Grass and Willow Weaving Exhibition Hall displays various grass and wicker products. Photo by Gu Hua

　　Liu Chengguo, deputy mayor of Zhenghong Town, said that currently there are more than 1,000 households and more than 5,000 people engaged in the straw and wicker weaving industry in the town. The town has attracted several grass and willow weaving companies, and the products weaved include daily necessities, furniture, toys, shoes and hats, etc. "In recent years, original ecological products such as straw and wicker weaving have become very popular in overseas markets. Our products are mainly sold overseas, with current annual sales exceeding 20 million yuan."

　　In the Zhenghong Town Grass and Willow Weaving Exhibition Hall, there are more than 200 kinds of grass and wicker products on display, covering all aspects of home life, with novel and unique styles and exquisite appearance.

Zhenghongzhen grass and willow weaving live broadcast room. Photo by Gu Hua

　　"We have deeply integrated the primary, secondary and tertiary industries of traditional industries such as straw and willow weaving, forming a chain effect of continuous improvement of varieties, offline processing of products and online sales." Hu Jian, mayor of Zhenghong Town, said that the town also uses Leading enterprises have taken the lead in building e-commerce service centers to make the straw and wicker weaving industry bigger and stronger, and are committed to creating online sales brands of straw and wicker products and other agricultural specialties, basically forming a rural e-commerce with wide applications, sound guarantees, complete supporting facilities, and relatively concentrated industries. pattern. (over)