Kang Guilin (Left) shows newly crafted lantern.

In the Taiwan-themed town of Pingtan, a conspicuous workshop decorated with lanterns nestles amid a strip of craft shops and Taiwan specialty stores. A dazzling array of traditional lanterns deck the store. Among them, some dissimilar lanterns that look like a cross between a lantern and an umbrella caught our attention. Chinese calligraphy with the character "Fu" (blessing) and vivid collages made of carved seashells illustrating Pingtan Island's iconic landmarks, stone houses, and fishing boats adorn the lanterns. These lanterns are Pingtan’s double intangible cultural heritage – Shell Carving Lampbrella.

The art of shell carving has a long history on Pingtan Island. While Lampbrella is a lantern in Taiwan, named after its innovative foldable design that takes after an umbrella. "Pingtan's Shell Carving and Taiwan Lampbrella connotate cross-Straits camaraderie and collective blessings.” Kang Guilin introduced that cross-Straits cultures share the same root. She has been trying to integrate intangible cultural elements of Pingtan and Taiwan. Hence, the Shell Carving Lampbrella came into being.

Kang Guilin is the inheritor of the Traditional Pingtan-Taiwan Lantern. She ran the workshop to promote the handicraft as well as the excellent traditional culture.

Kang came to Pingtan in August 2018 and opened the workshop. In 2019, the "Traditional Pingtan-Taiwan Lantern" was listed in the first batch of district-level intangible cultural heritage.

The lantern is used for decoration in major Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival as a sign of family reunion, prosperous career, and abundance.

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