STORY: Faces of China: Inheritor of traditional oil extraction technique in E China
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 18, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 13, 2025
LENGTH: 0:01:25
LOCATION: FUZHOU, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Xiyuan Oil Mill
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG ZONGMING, Owner of Xiyuan Oil Mill
3. various of Xiyuan Oil Mill
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHANG ZONGMING, Owner of Xiyuan Oil Mill
5. various of Xiyuan Oil Mill
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): ZHANG CHUN, Zhang Zongming's son

STORYLINE:

Zhang Zongming is the owner of the Xiyuan Oil Mill in east China's Fuzhou and the inheritor of a traditional oil extraction technique.

In 2018, the oil extraction technique of Xiyuan Oil Mill was listed as a municipal intangible cultural heritage project in Fuzhou.

It's not easy to extract tea-seed oil by hand, as Zhang has been doing for nearly four decades.

Xiyuan Oil Mill has a history of nearly 130 years and is the last remaining hand-pressed tea-seed oil mill in Minqing County.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG ZONGMING, Owner of Xiyuan Oil Mill
"Our tea seeds are the size of longan. They are definitely better than last year."

The oil extraction process consists of seven steps: roasting, grinding, sieving, steaming, shaping into tea cakes, placing on racks, and pressing.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHANG ZONGMING, Owner of Xiyuan Oil Mill
"Oil extraction begins around November 20 each year, and around 1,150 kg of tea seeds are pressed daily. The temperature is already high enough. Take another tea seed to examine, and check multiple parts of the seed due to variations in fire exposure."

To preserve and promote this intangible cultural heritage, Zhang passed down the manual oil extraction technique to his son.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): ZHANG CHUN, Zhang Zongming's son
"I returned as soon as the oil mill started pressing oil this year. Since I have returned to my hometown to learn this craft, I am committed to mastering it and passing it on. This is, after all, a skill passed down from our ancestors."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Fuzhou, China.
(XHTV)