The oil paper umbrella is a traditional Chinese handicraft. It has a history of over 1,000 yeas in China. In early Tang Dynasty, it was introduced to Japan and Korea, so it was called the "Tang Umbrella". Later oil paper umbrellas were spread to other Asian countries. such as Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, and each had its own style. However, as steel-ribbed (钢骨的) umbrellas appeared in the last century, the hand-made oil paper umbrellas became less used in daily. They were turned into decorative artifacts (装饰性工艺品).

Yuhang in Hangzhou is known for making oil paper umbrellas for more than 230 years. They are mainly made of skin paper, bamboo, a coating of Tung oil. They need to take more than 70 steps to make, including making bamboo ribs, pesting papers and painting patterns. It takes at least a week to make per umbrella. In 2008, these umbrellas were added to Intangible Cultural Heritage List (非物质文化遗产名录) of China.

A young man called Liu Weixue learned the traditional art of making Yuhang oil paper umbrellas from his grandfather. "I want to bring the art to life." Liu said. He improved the umbrellas to win the hearts of young people. As the traditional paper was easy to break, he started to use a kind of thicker paper. In a test, his umbrellas were opened and closed for 1,000 times without breaking. He used a kind of lighter bamboo to make the umbrellas weigh less.

Now Liu hopes the art can be passed on. He goes to local schools to teach students. He also goes to events in different places to promote the art.