The ancient method inheritance of copper and aluminum casting skills

On January 16, in Qingshui Village, Qingshui Town, Min County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, Jiang Shengping, the representative inheritor of copper-aluminum casting skills in Min County, prepared to make molds in sand screening.（Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua）

The copper-aluminum casting technique of Minxian County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province with a history of hundreds of years is a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Gansu. The production process is divided into more than a dozen processes such as mold making, carving, casting, and sand cleaning. Today, craftsmen still use ancient methods to make purely by hand, using sand as raw material and mixing with clay to make the required molds, and then pour high-temperature molten copper or aluminum water into the molds and wait for them to cool. , Break the sand mold, take out the polishing process and finally make exquisite copper-aluminum castings. Due to the one-time use of the mold, each hand-made casting is unique. In recent years, relying on the traditional advantages of copper and aluminum casting, the local area has vigorously developed the copper and aluminum casting industry. Through the "cooperative + farmer" model, the e-commerce platform is used to expand sales channels and continuously enhance the cultural and collection value of copper and aluminum castings. An ancient smelting and casting technique has become an important industry that drives local farmers to increase their incomes and become rich.

On January 16, in Qingshui Village, Qingshui Town, Min County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, Jiang Shengping, the representative inheritor of copper-aluminum casting techniques in Min County, put his own seal on the newly made mold.（Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua）

On January 16, in Qingshui Village, Qingshui Town, Min County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, Jiang Shengping (left), a representative inheritor of copper and aluminum casting skills in Min County, inspected molds with his companions.（Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua）

On January 16, in Qingshui Village, Qingshui Town, Min County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, Jiang Shengping, the representative inheritor of copper-aluminum casting skills in Min County, used a hammer to hit the copper product just cast.（Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua）

On January 16, in Qingshui Village, Qingshui Town, Min County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, Jiang Shengping, the representative inheritor of copper and aluminum casting techniques in Min County, inspected the cast products.（Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua）

On January 16, in Qingshui Village, Qingshui Town, Min County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province, Jiang Shengping (middle), the representative inheritor of copper and aluminum casting skills in Min County, and his companions were casting a copper product.（Photo by Chen Bin/Xinhua）