Stonemason Duan Zengcai: 44-year story with marbles

Duan Zengcai is the inheritor of marble-processing skills in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. He has spent 44 years dealing with marbles and introducing the stones to more people.

According to Duan, the whole procedures to process marbles include quarrying, transporting, carving and polishing. And the waxing is the last step. In old times, tools like airbox and blow torches were needed and a skilled worker could only complete a piece of marble (60 cm long * 30 cm wide) in a day while currently, with the help of various machines the efficiency is 40 times higher.

Duan also told us that the value of a piece of marble depends on whether it can meet a connoisseur with proper discernment. And in the future, he plans to focus on processing home furnishing marbles. Nowadays, after dealing with marbles for 44 years, Duan has been passing on the skills to his son who is also willing to introduce the stones to more families.

Editor: John Li