With a metal ferrule, a bamboo shaft and bamboo stretchers decorated with colored silk threads, and a buckle to fasten the umbrella when it is closed, this item has 36 red ribs and a yellow-foundation oil-paper canopy with landscape paintings and a square seal of “Yuhang Oil-paper Umbrella Craftsmanship Inheritance Base”.
The origin of oil-paper umbrellas in Yuhang, China’s eastern Zhejiang province dates back to the year 1769, the 34th year during Emperor Qianlong’s reign when a person named Dong Wenyuan started an umbrella-making business, with fishing boat umbrellas and rainproof umbrellas as the main products. Having become favorable choices for gifts thanks to their high quality and durableness, the umbrellas from Dong’s shop enjoyed such a big popularity that some travelers to Yuhang would even knock Dong’s door at midnight to buy umbrellas.