Lamp-worked glass is a technique that glass tubes or rods are heated to high temperatures by the flame of a gas burner, and then shaped with tools such as pliers into various forms,also known as "glassware". It has hbeen recognized as an intangible cultural heritage at the national level with a history of over a thousand years.
In 2023, four young people chose to start a business in Changsha and opened a lampworking studio in Chaozong Street. He Yang, born in the 2000s, is one of them. In his hands, glass undergoes a series of steps such as melting, shaping and assembly, transformed into exquisite lamp-worked glass in the shape of flowers, branches, etc.
Their videos of lamp-worked glass posted on social media platforms get tons of likes, and the glass-worked glass has become popular among more and more people, some of whom come to the studio to experience it first hand.
In Changsha, the four young individuals have not only "unlocked" multiple identities as entrepreneurs, online influencers, and young inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, but they have also discovered the versatility of life's possibilities.
