How a “handheld cool” made in Yinan, Shandong?

LINYI, China, April 24, 2026 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

In Dongchangwang Village, Qingtuo Town, Yinan County, Linyi City, Shandong Province, a group of elderly villagers aged 75 to 85 still preserve an ancient craft: weaving cattail-leaf fans. Passed down for generations, the technique remains embedded in everyday life.

 

The fan’s raw material is naturally growing cattail grass. Each summer, villagers harvest leaves up to three meters long, and sun-dry them until they turn from green to yellowish-green, becoming both supple and light. Each fan requires around 20 cattail leaves. Starting from the base, the strips are interlaced and twisted by hand into a rounded shape, often finished with a delicate “swallow’s nest” motif at the center.

 

The finished fans are flat, light, and softly fragrant. On hot nights, they provide a cooling breeze and keep insects at bay; their flexible fibers even allow them to double as makeshift cushions, reflecting the practical wisdom of rural life.

 

Compared with the palm-leaf fans commonly found in southern China, this northern cattail fan is simpler in craftsmanship and lower in cost, yet it equally embodies the aesthetic sensibility of folk life. Despite the prevalence of modern cooling, they remain a summer staple in Yinan and a repository of childhood memories.

 

More than a craft, the cattail fan embodies a way of life – living in harmony with nature, creating comfort by hand, and preserving a sense of calm in a fast-paced world.

 

Source: Information Office of Yinan County People’s Government