Taohuawu Woodblock New Year Prints

Taohuawu New Year prints began in the Ming and flourished in the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns of the Qing, named for the cluster of print workshops in Suzhou's Taohuawu district; they are one of China's five great woodblock New Year traditions, paired with Tianjin's Yangliuqing as 'South Tao, North Yang'.

The craft descends from Song woodblock printing and the Ming method of one block per colour, passing through drawing, carving and colour registration as three main stages, with some prints further hand-coloured, dusted or gilded, yielding full compositions, bright colours and festive folk subjects.

In 2006 Taohuawu woodblock prints entered the first national list of intangible cultural heritage, an outstanding example of Jiangnan folk printmaking.

Workshops in Suzhou's Taohuawu area carry on the carving and colour-registration techniques of the tradition.