STORY: Bagan preserves Myanmar's ancient lacquerware tradition
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 24, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 27, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:59
LOCATION: BAGAN, Myanmar
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Lacquerware making
2. various of the U Ba Nyein Lacquerware workshop in Bagan
3. various of Lacquerware shop in Bagan

STORYLINE:

Bagan, central Myanmar, is a thriving city for the country's ancient art of lacquerware making.

Mar Mar Shwe, 47, is the owner of the Shwe Yati Lacquerware shop in Bagan. "Our family has been running this lacquerware business for over 70 years, passing it down through generations," said Shwe. "We are committed to preserving this art as a way of supporting Myanmar's traditional handcrafts."

Aung Kyaw Tun, 45, manager of the U Ba Nyein Lacquerware workshop in Bagan, said that his family has been running the business for 77 years and across four generations. "Despite the challenges, this art will be preserved for future generations," Tun added.

The lacquerware business now faces difficulties. Raw materials such as bamboo, horsehair, and wood have become scarce and expensive, leading to reduced production and difficulties in supporting workers. Skilled labor is also dwindling as younger generations seek other jobs for better opportunities.

Lacquerware making is among Myanmar's 10 most well-known traditional art forms, knows as the Ten Flowers of Art. 

The craft has been known to exist since the Bagan period of the 9th to 13th centuries. 

Bagan, as Myanmar's first capital, proudly continues this tradition.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Bagan, Myanmar.
(XHTV)