Ninghai is also home to one of China's most renowned art forms, gold-painted lacquer, which China's government has included in its list of national intangible cultural heritage. It is a time-honored folk art which requires delicate skills and plenty of time. The process of making a work of lacquer involves more than 20 steps. Carved lacquer landscapes, flowers, birds, figures and pavilions are added to wooden ornaments, which are then decorated with gold leaf. The effect is magnificent and dazzling.

Rich families in Ninghai often chose gold-painted lacquer home furnishings as dowries in former times, but nowadays the lacquer products are given to newly-married couples as gifts.

Gold-painted lacquer ornaments' auspicious colors and rich themes are considered to make them excellent gifts for newly-married couples in Ninghai county, Ningbo. [Photo by Qin Jirong/chinadaily.com.cn]