Chongzhou Weavers Crafted the Guide Boards for the World Games Opening Ceremony

In the night of August 7, the opening ceremony of the 2025 Chengdu World Games was held under glittering lights. Chengdu made a splendid appearance on the global stage, with every detail presenting the elegant charm of Shu culture and the distinctive appeal of Tianfu (Chengdu's nickname, meaning the Land of Abundance). Notably, the“blooming lotus guide boards” leading the athletes from various countries into the venue were particularly eye-catching. Crafted with Daoming bamboo weaving (a national intangible cultural heritage from Chongzhou) as their base, these guide boards have ingeniously incorporated national intangible cultural heritage (Shu brocade) and Chengdu's intangible cultural heritages (silver filigree, Shu embroidery and lacquer art).

Underpinned by the interlacing warp and weft of Daoming bamboo weaving, the guide boards were adorned with exquisitely patterned and gentle-colored Shu brocade. Delicate and ingenious silver filigree was applied to outline the shape of blooming lotus. Superb Shu embroidery and lacquer artistry were used to render the emblem and the Chinese and English names of the participating countries and and regions.

The core part of the guide boards, crafted from Chongzhou Daoming bamboo weaving, is concealed inside"the interior" wrapped by Shu brocade. Although the audience can't get a clear and immediate view of the precise bamboo-weaving craftsmanship, not a single detail is neglected in the process of material selection and fabrication.

Ding Chunmei, an intangible cultural heritage bearer of Daoming Bamboo Weaving, and her artisans follows the age-old wisdom of“selecting bamboo is akin to choosing a companion”. They pick the tender shoots of neosinocalamus affinis that has thrived in the mountains for more than three years. Following multiple rounds of steaming, sun-drying and shade curing, they dissect the stalks into slivers as thin as cicada wings and draw them into bamboo threads of proper widths. Subsequently, with their deft fingers dancing across warp and weft patterns, classic techniques are applied as the core while blending the techniques like sparse weaving, insertion, threading, locking and binding. Through their skilled hands, the delicate bamboo strands are ingeniously transformed into a robust support carrying national emblems.

The woven design adopts the classic weaving technique of"three-pick and three-press" to create square patterns. Expanding from the central point, squares holding infinite potential are woven, signifying the notion of"round heaven and square earth, with all people united as one” and symbolizing the values of"peace, harmony and happiness".

Ding Chunmei's team made a total of 240 guide boards for Chengdu World Games. Each board is akin to a mini art treasure, concentrating the"touch of warmth from the fingertips" of traditional culture.

"The creation of the guide boards was rather pressing, yet Ding Chunmei's team managed to weave the desired products in just 10 days. We are truly thankful to the skilled craftsmen of Daoming Bamboo Weaving", an official from the organizing team for the World Games Opening Ceremony said to the reporter.

Boasting a time-honored history of more than 2,000 years, Daoming Bamboo Weaving holds great significance in Chengdu's cultural landscape, where the belief"one would rather live without meat than without bamboo" prevails. In recent years, with the Zhuyi Village in Daoming Town as the hub, Chongzhou has harnessed the resources of art school workstations and designer creative studios to infuse traditional cultural heritage with modern aesthetic expressions, which has facilitated the evolution of bamboo weaving industry from a rough and simple stage to a sophisticated and refined one. Characterized by their graceful designs, superb craftsmanship and diverse colors, bamboo weaving crafts and daily items (including household goods, home furnishings, and jewelry-inspired cultural and creative products), have diversified into 15 main categories with over 800 patterns. These products are now exported to multiple countries and regions worldwide,, including the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Embodying the romantic depiction of the cream of"Chengdu Intangible Cultural Heritage" through the distinct flexibility and resilience inherent in bamboo products, Daoming Bamboo Weaving has silently"extended" a heartfelt invitation to the world with its oriental aesthetic charm. (Source: Propaganda Office of Chongzhou Municipal Party Committee)

Translated by: Zhang Feng from Jinan University

Reviewed by: Mao Min from Beijing Yooyi Culture and Media Com., Ltd.