Cultural rituals and traditional symbols
In China, children often learn how to play mahjong while spending time with cousins and friends during the Lunar New Year, while older people play the game all year round.
Mahjong tiles are traditionally made of wood, ivory or bamboo. Tile makers cut, polish, carve and color each tile.
In the 1960s, there were more than 20 mahjong tile carvers in Hong Kong (China), and there was even an association specializing in this industry.
Today, most mahjong tiles are mass-produced on assembly lines in factories in mainland China.
Ho Sau-Mei, one of the last mahjong carvers in Hong Kong (China), is aging with age.
“My eyesight is getting blurry, my hands are aching,” she said as she chiseled intricate Chinese characters or flower petals onto a piece of plastic just a little bigger than a stamp.
For more than four decades, Ms. Ho has been carving mahjong tiles in a small roadside shop in Hung Hom, a former port area that is now seeing rapid construction of shiny new high-rise apartment buildings.
She began her apprenticeship at the age of 13 with her father, who founded the family's tile business, Kam Fat Mahjong, in 1962.
Masters who visited Hong Kong (China) during the golden age of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s also share techniques and train students.
The craft of mahjong was recognized as an "intangible cultural heritage" by the Hong Kong (China) government in 2014, and increased funding for research and preservation of various protected traditions.
There are now very few mahjong masters left around the city, and among them, Ms. Ho is the only woman still pursuing her passion.
Craftsmanship requires precision
Minibuses and double-decker buses whizzed down the busy road, past the ground-floor shops on Bulkeley Street.
The shop was only about two metres wide, with a wall of old glass cabinets that reached to the ceiling, filled with faded photographs and stacks of novelty mahjong tiles. Hovering behind Ms Ho’s work chair was a shrine that glowed with a soft red light.
The people who work at the nearby hardware stores are friends she has talked to for years. Sometimes, passersby stop to watch Ms. Ho work hard, hunched over her tiny workspace.
Ms Ho's daily routine remains the same, even as the neighbourhood has grown, with mahjong tiles now largely produced by large factories in mainland China.
She usually sits at the front of the store and sets out her tools before 10am.
At 68, Ms. Ho said she only works until around noon these days. She said she “just doesn’t have the energy” to carve all day anymore.
“But I would be bored if I had to retire,” she said.
Mrs. Ho had neatly arranged Bakelite tiles on a heavy wooden tray and prepared specialized tools on a small glass cabinet that served as a workbench.
A complete set of mahjong includes 144 tiles and special cards depicting flowers, dragons and the four seasons.
As Hong Kong (China) transformed from a manufacturing center to a financial center in the 1990s, mass production of machine-made chess pieces moved to mainland China.
Some chess sets are sold for as little as 70 yuan ($10) directly from online wholesalers.
“Every year, students and journalists come to talk to me and ask me about this craft. I really want to help people understand this craft that is gradually disappearing. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. But as long as I can hold the tools, I can continue,” she said.
According to CNN
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