Ni Renwang Village

Ni Renwang Village

Ni Renwang Village in Lijiakuai Subdistrict, Huangpi District, Wuhan City, is a village of over a hundred households with a total population of 350. More than 100 villagers in the village specialize in making clay figurines. Ni Renwang Village is 65 kilometers from downtown Wuhan and 29 kilometers from Huangpi District; Huangpi clay sculpture has a history of over 1,000 years, with the 500 Golden Arhat statues at Guiyuan Temple and the clay figures in the Mulan Mountain ancient architectural complex both originating from Ni Renwang Village. In 2013, Ni Renwang Village in Lijiakuai Subdistrict was included in the first batch of China’s Traditional Villages list. The village also features the ancient fortress of Longwangjian Stone Citadel, a remnant of ancient military strongholds from historical battles.

Just as there is the “Clay Figurine Zhang” in the north, there is the “Clay Figurine Wang” in the south. The so-called Clay Figurine Wang is from Huangpi District. After his factory closed in 1995, he traveled to places such as Jiangxi and Guangdong. With carving skills in hand, he could earn 10,000 yuan a month by spending a month to carve a large character piece. “We need to turn the mud at the foot of the mountain into money.” The clay sculpture industry in Ni Renwang Village allows visitors to freely observe the processes of shaping, molding, pressing, repairing, air-drying, and coloring clay figurines. Nowadays, many of the products are sold to countries in Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and elsewhere.

In the 1970s, the clay sculpture products from Ni Renwang Village enjoyed great renown nationwide, were featured in a documentary film produced by the Central Documentary Film Studio, and the National Tourism Administration even awarded the title “Hometown of Clay Sculpture.” Ni Renwang Village revitalized its clay sculpture industry. Huangpi Ni Renwang Sculpture Co., Ltd. established a clay sculpture training school, and the villagers rediscovered their clay sculpture craftsmanship, developing and producing more than 100 varieties of clay craft products such as “Mulan Joins the Army” and “Huangpi Folk Customs,” which have been well received in the market.

In 2013, cultural and artistic complexes such as the “Ni Renwang Village Clay Sculpture Art Gallery,” “Ni Renwang Village Clay Sculpture Experience Hall,” and “Ni Renwang Village Clay Sculpture Viewing Garden” were established. To inherit, protect, revitalize, and develop the culture of “Huangpi Clay Sculpture” and to bring “Huangpi Clay Sculpture” to the whole country and beyond, the scenic area organizes the “Huangpi Clay Sculpture Cultural Festival” every October. Especially the “Ni Renwang Village Clay Sculpture Experience Hall,” which is particularly suitable for elementary, middle, and high school students to engage in extracurricular quality education. During the “Huangpi Clay Sculpture Cultural Festival,” students can learn about things through clay sculpture, cultivate healthy personalities, interests, and qualities, and enrich their artistic imagination.