Picture: The last Chinese lantern maker in Georgetown.
Chinese New Year would be unthinkable without red Chinese lanterns. Most of them are nowadays imported from China. But strolling through old Georgetown I occassionally found some bigger, white and handmade lanterns. I asked a local tour guide who told me that only one old Chinese man still makes them in Georgetown. After asking several locals an Indian trishaw rider finally found the shop and the last Chinese lantern maker. The lanterns take 3-4 months to make and are all done by him by hand. The frame is bamboo and the skin rough silk. The lantern then gets hand-painted by the wife. I ordered two lanterns and I now have to wait until April for delivery.
Picture: The lantern-maker's wife painting the Chinese letters by hand in a dark and dingy shed.
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