THE juicy looking grapes hanging on a large trellis are the first things that catch your eyes when entering the Grape Chang Exhibition Hall of the Huashi Community Museum in Beijing. They seem plump and ripe， and ready to eat— but hang on； these are not real grapes. After close scrutiny， the observer realizes that the tantalizing fruit is actually made of glass.
　　Chang Hong， the fifth-generation inheritor of Grape Chang， is familiar with the looks of disbelief from visitors. In many exhibitions she has observed almost everyone who sees the grapes wanting to touch or even taste them.
　　Grape Chang is a craft of making glass grapes， which first emerged during the reign of Emperor Guangxu （1875-1908） in the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）. Today， only Chang Hong and her sister Chang Yan know the formula and techniques of this ancient family heritage. In 2009， the craftsmanship of Grape Chang was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list， and it has been viewed and appreciated by many on various occasions since then.
　　Grape Craft History
　　Grape Chang is a brand for glass grapes， named after the family Chang， which has been renowned for their excellent craftsmanship in the field. Traditionally， the names of old Beijing folk arts are made up of the folk art and family name of the artisan， such as the Dough Figurine Lang and Clay Figurine Zhang， which is both catchy and simple.
　　Chang Hong’s ancestral name is not Chang； her ancestors were qiren （which literally means the banner people， who served in the military of Qing in different hierarchic segments based on their family lineage）. In the Qing Dynasty， the banner people were supported by the royal family， which means many things even necessities such as sesame oil were distributed by the state. In addition， banner people were not allowed to be engaged in commerce. So they had lots of leisure time， which allowed them to develop many hobbies. Later， many of these people turned their hobbies and playthings into the means of making a living when their family began to decline.
　　Such is the case with the founder of Grape Chang， Hanqiharibu. He used to make various kinds of fruit out of clay for fun. When his family privilege was removed， he depended on the clay making skills to make a living. At the same time， he also tried to improve his craft and decided on a rare raw material at that time – glass. 　　In 1894， Empress Dowager Cixi’s 60th birthday was celebrated at the Summer Palace in Beijing. When Cixi went to the palace theater to watch a play， a trel-lis with crystal glistening grapes hanging on it caught her attention. At that time， Beijing had entered early winter， so Cixi had a longing to eat fresh summery grapes. She therefore instructed her staff to pick some grapes for her to enjoy.
　　After a eunuch told her the grapes were not real， Cixi was very surprised and then found out that they were made by Hanqiharibu and his wife. As grapes had many pips， which implies many children and many blessings in Chinese， Cixi was pleased with this birthday gift and granted Hanqiharibu’s wife the title“Chang Zai” and gave her a plaque with the words Tian Yi Chang （meaning royal kindness always with you）， to enable her to go home and open a business with the endorsement and support her family. In gratitude for the words of the empress， Hanqiharibu（the husband） changed his name to Chang Zai and his family changed their surname. Grape Chang subsequently became well known in Beijing.
　　Complex Techniques
　　The Grape Chang craft is very complicated. All processes rely heavily on manual skills. The birth of a bunch of grapes needs to go through more than 10 processes， and all the effort will be wasted if just a slightest mistake is made during one of them.
　　Generally， the production process of Grape Chang includes selection and melting of material， glass bead blowing， coloring， waxing， frosting， and assembly.
　　According to Chang Hong， selected glass is first melted into liquid， after which a very thin iron rod is used to pull out a glass pipe from the liquid. This pipe is then dipped into the glass liquid again and used to blow the liquid into hollow glass beads of grape size.
　　Blowing glass beads is the hardest step as it needs to be finished within seconds and the liquid glass has a temperature of more than 1，000 degrees Celsius. There is no mold to use during the whole process and the skill of the crafter is all that determines success.
　　After blowing the glass beads， it is time to make grape stalks. Cotton paper is rolled over thin wire and inserted into holes in the blown beads.
　　Next the beads are colored. Chang Hong said that the formula of color mixing is unique to her family. First， pigments are mixed into the color of grapes， and then heated after applying it onto the grapes. If the temperature is incorrect by just 10 to 20 degrees， the color will be different from that of the actual grapes. After coloring the beads， they are left to dry naturally.