Inheritor promotes Shidiao woodcarving in SW China's Xizang

In Chanang county, Shannan city, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, a distinctive form of Tibetan woodcarving bears an unusual name: Shidiao, literally meaning louse carving. It is said that over 300 years ago, Shidiao craftsmen could carve a kernel of Tibetan barley into the shape of a louse, hence the name given to this tradition of craftsmanship.

Padma Dradul is a sixth-generation inheritor of Chanang woodcarving. In 1981, 12-year-old Padma Dradul learned woodcarving techniques from his elder brother.

He established a Tibetan furniture factory in Chengguan district, Lhasa, the regional capital, in 1994, marking his first significant attempt to bring Chanang woodcarving techniques to markets. In 2012, he returned to his hometown to launch a Shidiao woodcarving cooperative.

Through collaboration with the county government and the county's vocational education center in 2015, he built a Shidiao industrial park, which began operations one year later.

In 2020, he was recognized as a region-level inheritor of Shidiao woodcarving in Xizang. In May 2021, Chanang woodcarving (Shidiao) was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage.

Padma Dradul has opened woodcarving training programs in the cooperative to make the craft accessible for unemployed youth, while also offering jobs to qualified trainees.

The exhibition hall of the cooperative showcases a series of Shidiao products, including outdoor folding tables and dressing tables featuring rich Tibetan cultural elements. These innovative products represent Padma Dradul's creative developments in recent years. The flexibility of Shidiao woodcarving techniques in coloring and dyeing applications allows for extensive customization according to client preferences. These make Shidiao products popular on the market.