After the third season of "A Bite of China" was broadcast, the Zhangqiu iron pot became famous overnight, and local small family workshops for making iron pots also sprouted everywhere. However, the quality of the iron pots varied, and even There is a phenomenon of shoddy goods. Just 4 months later, Zhangqiu Iron Wok, a popular Internet celebrity, suddenly "went cold". Not only did the products become unsalable, but many small family workshops that followed the trend also closed down.
In some villages that produce iron pots in Xianggongzhuang Town and Puji Town in Zhangqiu District, most of the handicraft workshops in the villages have suspended production. It is understood that most of these small family workshops have not completed production and operation procedures. The Zhangqiu District Market Supervision Department has intervened in the investigation and will carry out strict industry rectification.
“Twelve processes, eighteen times of heat, 1,000℃ high temperature smelting, 36,000 times of hammering...” On the evening of February 19, the third season of the CCTV documentary "A Bite of China" was broadcast, It tells the story of Zhangqiu blacksmith masters passing down pot-making skills from generation to generation. The commentary uses various numbers to describe the ingenuity of hand-made pots.
After the documentary was broadcast, Zhangqiu Iron Pot became an "Internet celebrity" overnight, instantly overwhelming the circle of friends and appearing on major search lists. At the same time, the "Internet celebrity" Zhangqiu Iron Pot has also ignited the consumption enthusiasm of netizens. In order to buy an authentic Zhangqiu Iron Pot, customers from all over the country come to Zhangqiu. It is understood that Niu Qisheng, a provincial-level intangible human blacksmith in Xianggongzhuang Town, Zhangqiu District, received nearly a thousand people in one week, and his orders are scheduled until March 2019.
“Before, I attracted tourists from other places, and they asked for Zhangqiu iron pot by name.” Liu Fang (pseudonym), a taxi driver in Zhangqiu District, said that after the Spring Festival this year, many outsiders came to Zhangqiu specifically. Qiu Qiu bought an iron pot. One of the Qingdao men took a taxi to Hezhuang Village, Xianggongzhuang Town and bought an iron pot.
“When you entered Hezhuang Village, you could hear the clanging sound of forging iron when you stood on the street.” Liu Fang has been renting out the business for more than three years. She said that foreigners come to Zhangqiu to buy handmade iron pots She was deeply impressed by the incident. She said that there are many small workshops for making iron pots in Hezhuang Village, and the provincial non-genetic blacksmith Niu Qisheng is also in this village.
There are billboards about Zhangqiu iron pot hanging on both sides of the road leading to Hezhuang Village. There are also many similar outdoor advertisements on the main roads in the village, which indicate that they are Zhangqiu handmade iron pots. Also left a phone number.
“It turns out that there were only two or three iron pot making companies in our village, but there were more and more after the Spring Festival.” A villager in Hezhuang Village said that after the Zhangqiu iron pot became popular, the family workshops that made iron pots in their village suddenly became popular. The number has increased from two or three to about 40.
“My father is a blacksmith, and I learned how to blacksmith when I was 17 years old.” Liu Jian (pseudonym), a 55-year-old villager in Hezhuang Village, hired five or six old people who knew how to blacksmith to make iron after the Spring Festival. He said that people over 50 years old in the village basically knew how to make iron, and later changed careers one after another. However, after the Zhangqiu iron pot became popular, they all picked up this craft again.
“The entire iron pot is made from a piece of iron sheet in one go. One person can finish one iron pot at most in one day.” Liu Jian said that making the Zhangqiu iron pot requires 7 hot forgings and 5 cold forgings. It takes more than 36,000 hammerings. However, some small family workshops will cut corners and no one can guarantee that all small family workshops will hammer 36,000 times. Therefore, the quality of the iron pots produced varies from good to bad.
In addition, Liu Jian also said that some family workshops use machines to produce. They first use machines to roll raw materials into shapes, and then hammer and polish them. The iron pots made in this way are similar to those made by hand. almost. "There have been too many counterfeitings, and it has become a mess. Now the brand of Zhangqiu iron pot has almost been ruined." Liu Jian said that due to the existence of many chaos, the Zhangqiu iron pot they produced has been unsaleable.
Liu Jian took out a packaged Zhangqiu iron pot. The outer packaging had the words "Zhangqiu iron pot" printed on it, and tips on how to use it were printed on the side, but there was no trademark or manufacturer on it. , address, contact information and other information. "There is no registered trademark yet." Liu Jian said that not only did he not have a registered trademark, he did not even register a company, but he promised that the Zhangqiu iron pot was purely handmade by himself.
“I quit, I quit a long time ago. We only produced it for more than 20 days and we can’t sell it!” Liu Jian said that when the Zhangqiu iron pot was the most popular, it could sell for six to seven hundred. At that time, the old blacksmith's labor for making an iron pot was more than 200 yuan. However, due to the increase in family workshops producing iron pots and the entry of shoddy iron pots into the market, the unit price of Zhangqiu iron pots has dropped to three to four hundred yuan.
“I used to sell more than 20 iron pots a day, but now I can sell one pot a day, which is good.” Master Bai, a villager in Hezhuang Village, also started making Zhangqiu iron pots after the Spring Festival. The whole process of Qiu Iron Pot's popularity and the current sharp decline in sales. He said that at the most, there were more than 40 family workshops making iron pots in his village. Four months later, only three or four were left, and the rest of the family workshops had closed down.
According to Master Bai, their small workshop has registered a company and trademark, but recently the Zhangqiu District Market Supervision Department is strictly inspecting the Zhangqiu iron pot because he did not obtain the quality inspection certificate. We are not in business yet, and the quality inspection certificate can be obtained soon.