There is a traditional toy called taiping nijiaojiao. It is a clay toy and also a whistle (哨子) in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. It has a history of over 1,000 years.
Taiping nijiaojiao is made of the mud from the local mountain. It takes more than ten steps to make the clay toy, and the key step is to knead (捏) it with your hands. You can knead the clay toy into anything, like animals and plants. The blowhole is the most difficult part to make, for the size of the blowhole makes a difference to the sound. While coloring, you can use traditional cultural elements (元素) that carry good meanings. It's hard to make taiping nijiaojiao. But when you finally make it, you will feel proud of yourself.
Zhou Baokang, a lover of folk art, learned how to make the clay toy from local artists about 20 years ago. He wants more people to know about it, so he has opened a museum to introduce the clay toy. He teaches kids how to make the clay toy, too.
There are many traditional art forms in China, but some of them have been lost. Luckily, the traditional clay toy taiping nijiaojiao is kept to this day.
