Emanating a serene luster, lacquer ware is another exquisite Chinese craft. The earliest users of lacquer, Chinese people have enjoyed its beauty since the Neolithic Age.

Lacquer wares, firm yet lightweight, are resistant to heat, acid, alkali and electricity. Pieces made in Yangzhou are famous for their elegance and delicacy and the unique creative technique - whorl filling which takes shells as material, processes them into sheets as thin as cicada wings, and pastes them carefully onto lacquer bodies. With this process, people even inset treasures like crystal, jade, pearls and coral onto lacquer furniture, tea wares, and writing brushes. Pingyao, an ancient town in Shanxi Province, produces lacquer ware which features the luster polished by craftsmen's palms. This simple but radiant artwork ranks as the most refined.

Lacquer is a natural substance obtained from the lacquer tree which has its home in China, a country still leading the world in lacquer resources. Much of the country is suitable for growing the tree, but most of the output comes from five provinces-Shaanxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan.