Weifang (Chinese: 濰坊) is city in central Shandong Province (山東省), China. Weifang is the largest production and distribution center of New Year pictures (年畫) in Chinese history, tourists can visit Yangjiabu (楊家埠) to watch the production of New Year pictures.
Yangjiabu has been converted into a tourist attraction, and the New Year pictures of Yangjiabu are well known in China.
New Year pictures are a popular art in China. It is a form of colored woodblock print, used for decoration and the performance of rituals during the Chinese New Year Holiday.
The origins of the New Year picture are unknown, although the genre is thought to have begun with the printing of door gods during the Tang (唐) dynasty (A.D. 618-907).
The art of New Year pictures does not make much money, and there are no young people to join the industry, even the youngest master in the workshop is already over 60 years old.
Traditional New Year pictures are hand-printed with wooden engravings, but nowadays they are mostly printed by machines, making this traditional craft on the verge of being lost.
Tourists can buy some New Year pictures produced in this workshop to support this disappearing traditional craft.
