Over the past two years, Sun Yaqing and her employees have finished more than 1,000 straw sculptures and sold them in different cities around Jilin province.

Sun, 65, opened her straw sculpture factory in Changchun, the capital of the province, in 2017. Various sculptures, including figures, animals and vehicles, have enjoyed growing favor among customers around the province.

"To finish a sculpture, workers need to build a steel skeleton according to the requirements of a customer's order and then begin plaiting straw on the skeleton," she said. "After coloring, the sculpture is transported to the appointed location for installation. We also provide a maintenance service."

Sun said they already had customer orders for next year.

"Products with local features, such as Hongqi (Red Flag) cars, high-speed trains and Siberian tigers have become the most popular," she said.

The increase in sales has triggered the need for more workers. During the busiest periods there are nearly 100 employees at the factory. Besides a dozen permanent workers, all the other employees are drawn from surrounding villages.

"After years of contact with farmers I pay attention to their lives," Sun said. "I hope I can provide chances for farmers to make money during the slow season."

Workers first

The straw sculpture factory is not the first business she has started.

After being laid off from her job at a lock factory in 1999, Sun tried several business ventures, including manufacturing plastic goods and floor coverings.

By 2006, she had enough investment funds and savings to put 10 million yuan into Changchun Changda Logistics.

With Sun's advanced management and marketing ideas, the company grew rapidly and became the leading logistics company in Northeast China within several years.

With her success, Sun never forgot about making a contribution to society. She provided jobs for more than 100 migrant and laid-off workers at her logistics company.

From 2011, she organized trade cooperation among local governments, vegetable farmers and large wholesalers, which greatly increased the farmers' sales.

In 2015, Changchun Women's Federation set up a training project in Sun's company focusing on female farmers' vocational skills in the processing of agricultural products.

As part of a straw-plaiting course in 2016, students were sent to Zibo, Shandong province, to learn the craft.

Twist of fate

Straw plaiting is a traditional craft that dates back more than 6,000 years in Zibo and has been added to the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

"A trainee told me that many families and local residents engaged in the industry and a complete production chain had been developed in the area," Sun said.

"At that time, I had the idea of trying it in Changchun, but it was quite clear that it would be impossible to achieve the same success as Zibo, so I had to find a different way."

To differ from the traditional straw-plaited products such as baskets, fruit boxes and straw hats, Sun decided to produce large straw sculptures for use in urban landscape designs.

However, none of her relatives or friends supported her decision, she said.

"They said I was too old to attempt a new project with such an uncertain future," she said. "But I firmly believed that the project was a good business opportunity and started it with the help of several employees."

It also provided more job opportunities for villagers, she added.

To expand the market, she made several straw sculptures, including three ginseng plants, three sika deer and a lucid ganoderma－a kidney-shaped herb－to display at the 17th Changchun International Agricultural Food Exposition and Fair held in August last year.

To her surprise, the sculptures were popular with visitors.

"I was too excited and couldn't fall asleep till midnight when I recalled visitors lining up to take photos with my sculptures," she said.

At the end of last year, she transferred share holdings and management of the logistics company to senior staff so she could put more effort into her straw sculpture enterprise.

At the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing that kicked off on April 28, her 15 sculptures again drew public attention. "A large ginseng sculpture was sold for 100,000 yuan ($14,250) at the expo," she said. "Moreover, I began to receive nonstop orders."

For Sun, the best outcome is that her employees can earn more money through their hard work.

They are paid 300 yuan to 1,000 yuan a sculpture, depending on the size and complexity of the design involved.

It is not difficult for a skillful worker to earn 10,000 yuan a month, she said. New employees can also get around 2,000 yuan a month after training.

"I feel proud that I can still make a contribution to society at the age of 65," Sun said. "I will stick it out till the day I can't move."

DING LUYANG/CHINA DAILY

DING LUYANG/CHINA DAILY

DING LUYANG/CHINA DAILY