We visited a factory that made very fine lacquerware. Each piece required seventeen steps taking a period of months (so that each layer of lacquer could completely dry before adding the next layer). The base plate, bowl, vase, tray, or mug is made of bamboo and very lightweight. Layer after layer of lacquer is applied before even the first step of the design is begun. It is in the number and depth of these layers that the finely made pieces can be differentiated from the cheap souvenirs (which are still lovely but are not strong and may easily chip).

At the entrance of the factory, three young women hand-etched designs of exquisite detail into lacquerware pieces. Each color of the design is etched and lacquered as a separate layer.

Here is a close-up of the piece this woman is working on, showing the exquisite level of detail of her etching. She needs good eyesight for this!

To the right of these young women sit three men who are the “big picture” artists. These men lay out the overall configuration of the design on each piece of lacquerware. The women then fill in the ornate details. The “big picture” men are specialists. One lays out abstract patterns (such as the vase pictured above); the second does animals; and the third lays out historical scenes.

In the background, another man is perhaps putting an early layer of lacquer onto a giant vase.

Nearby, three men process each piece that the young women have etched. Here, one man applies a layer of paint (in this case, green), while a second man wipes it off. The paint comes off everywhere except in the newly etched lines, where it belongs. The third man polishes each layer of lacquer using petrified wood.

Finally, all the layers of lacquer have been applied. Many pieces are inlaid now with mother-of-pearl. And young women smooth and polish the face of the piece one last time before it is ready for sale.