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HONG KONG : For the Chinese, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time to celebrate old traditions. And in Hong Kong, it is also when one fading art form comes to life.
Although the sight of traditional Chinese paper lanterns is becoming a rarity, there is one place which is keeping this dying art alive.
Tucked away in the windy streets of Hong Kong's Soho area is Chow Kee on Elgin Street. The shop is owned by Chan Kwei-chow, better known as Master Chan.
At 90, Master Chan is believed to be the oldest paper lantern-maker in Hong Kong. He has been honing his craft for more than six decades, making each creation by hand, using only simple tools.
He joined the industry at the age of 20, working for his uncle who owned Chow Kee during the 1950s and 1960s, the glory days of paper-crafting. Back then, Master Chan was paid for his hard work with three meals a day.
He recounted: "When we started, there was no salary, we only earned meals. That time was before the Second World War. We were given meals and I just kept working all day."
A dedicated worker, Master Chan picked up techniques from careful observation. He quickly realised his talents and eventually took over his uncle's shop.
Master Chan does not follow any sort of design or diagram. He just uses simple pieces of bamboo, sheets of paper, and transforms it into whatever he is imagining in his head.
Lanterns are not his only specialty - Master Chan also crafts elaborate paper figures used as offerings in traditional Chinese rituals. He can custom-make creations and has even had requests from customers in India to craft effigies of Hindu gods.
But the paper-crafting industry is on the verge of extinction. Nowadays, demand for these creations only comes around a few times a year. The situation has been threatened further by cheaper and durable machine-made imitations that are mass-produced on the mainland.
Master Chan refuses to use machinery, which is why his creations have been recognised as masterpieces and have even been featured in the Hong Kong Museum of History.
However, he does not plan to pass on his secrets to his children, who are all grown up with families of their own. He said he knows there is no profit in the paper-crafting industry and is not worried about going out of business.
He said: "There is nothing you can do about it. To be honest, this helps me pass the time and allows me to support myself. I don't need anything else."
For now, Master Chan is content to keep things simple, running the shop with his wife and creating his masterpieces for all to admire - no matter who buys them. - CNA/ms
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