The Fanhuang bamboo carving is a traditional craft of Ningbo. In making carved bamboo ware, moso bamboos are first skin-removed and sliced, then molded and drawn with colors, and finally fine-carved and lacquered.

Bamboo carving enjoys a long history in  . Legend goes that back in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Sulin’s family in Jiading (a county in Zhejiang) cut drawings on bamboos, which became artwork most favored by the people. As East Zhejiang abounded in bamboo, the technique soon spread and there emerged many masterpieces.  

Fenghua of Ningbo, a place with abundant moso bamboos, has a history of 100 years of bamboo carving. Before the New China was founded in 1949, there were quite a number of workshops of bamboo carving in Fenghua, such as Yi Su Zhai, Pauper Art Institute and Bamboo Product Company. The Ningbo  Museum has a big collection of bamboo carving artcrafts produced by these workshops.

The moso bamboos used for carving must be fresh ones of large caliber and long bamboo joints. To make a bamboo carving, craftsmen need first to take out the yellowish inside of bamboo (around 2 mm thick), then boil it and fix it on a plate, a semi finished product, in a seamless way. After polishing, it will be carved, painted or decorated. The yellowish color will come out clear and pure, like ivory. After painting and waxing, it will look bright and pleasing to the eye, parallel to jade carving or lacquerware.

Fenghua of Ningbo produces about 100 varieties of carved bamboo ware, including mirror chests, baskets, vases, lamps, chessboards, caddy, animal toys and big screens, with patterns of figures, flowers, birds, landscapes, etc. The carved products are featured by a combination of the traditional Chinese line drawing with the primitive simplicity of the seal stone carving. They are highly populous both at home and abroad for their functionality and aesthetics.