Liu Weixue learns the craft from scratch, such as sawing a bamboo culm, polishing ribs and intertwining thread.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Reviving lost skills

The modern umbrella's origins are believed to go back a long way.

According to Yuhang County Annals, a paper umbrella store was opened in Yuhang in 1769. Consequently, Yuhang paper umbrellas were hugely popular.

In 1951, three years after the founding of People's Republic of China, the Zhejiang provincial government established a cooperative to manufacture Yuhang paper umbrellas. At its peak, nearly 5 million umbrellas were sold annually.