Hexiang fish skin painting craft

Raohe County, Heilongjiang Province, located on the Sino-Russian border, is one of the main settlements of Hezhe nationality in China. Hezhe people live in Heilongjiang, Songhua River and Wusuli River basins. Hezhe people in history made a living by fishing and hunting. In their early years, clothes and bedding were mostly sewn with fish skin, so they were known as "fish skin tribes". Hezhe people's clothes are mostly made of fish skins such as chubby head fish, sturgeon and salmon. Not only is the raw material of clothing made of fish skin, but the thread of Hezhe people sewing clothes is also made of fish skin. Hezhe people are skilled in tanning fish skin. The fish skin line is made by scraping off the scales of chubby fish, coating oily dogfish liver to keep it soft and moist, then folding it and flattening it, then cutting it into filaments with a knife and sewing the line. At present, with the decrease of fishery resources, Hezhe fishermen turn their attention to tourism, and they show their fish skin making technology to tourists. Hezhe artists have also developed fish skin paintings and sold them online, which are popular among lovers all over the world. In June 2006, Hezhe's fish skin making skills were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)