Modern Xingyang Oil-paper Umbrella Featuring Birds and Flowers from Yunnan

Nicknamed “paper frame”, oil-paper umbrellas made in Xingyang village, Tengchong city of China’s southwestern Yunnan province usually have a coating of tung oil, also called “green cloth”, which makes the umbrellas rain-proof and dampness-resistant.
Legend has it that a councilor surnamed Zheng of the Tengyue County Government learned the craftsmanship from an umbrella-making master and then handed it down to later generations in his hometown. Having became a major sideline for local villagers in the mid-and-late 18th century, oil-paper umbrellas were once hot cakes on the markets of Baoshan, Dali, Kunming, etc. of Yunnan province.