Wang Xiaowei, an artisan in Shanlian town, Nanxun district, Huzhou, promotes the Huzhou writing brush via livestreams. [Photo/hz66.com]

Wang Xiaowei, an artisan in Shanlian town, Nanxun district, Huzhou, has recently been busy promoting the Huzhou writing brush via livestreams.

The Huzhou writing brush is a traditional Chinese brush pen that is believed to have a history of over 2,000 years. The brush, Hui ink, Xuan paper, and Duan ink slab are considered the "four treasures" of Chinese stationery.

Wang, 47, is an inheritor of the brush's crafting technique, which was designated as a national intangible cultural heritage item in 2016.

The artisan started to promote his brushes online in 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak severely impacted his offline business.

After hiring several web celebrities to promote his brushes, the sales figures immediately spiked. According to Wang, more than 1,000 orders worth over 100,000 yuan ($15,384.6) can be received via a single livestream.

The initial success inspired him to open a store on Tmall, an online marketplace run by Alibaba, and leverage livestreaming to promote brushes made by himself and other craftsmen in the town.

In 2021, Wang sold about 150,000 Huzhou writing brushes, of which 60 percent were sold online.

Apart from acting as a host, Wang has also been constantly innovating his products. Today, he owns over 10 invention patents for his brushes.

Shanlian town is home to about 400 enterprises that make the Huzhou writing brush. Their combined output value totaled 950 million yuan in 2021, up 11.8 percent year-on-year. Of the 400 companies, over 200 achieved annual online sales of over 500 million yuan.