In China, it's common to see people on the streets using their fans to beat the heat in summer. However, the traditional Chinese fan is not just a tool for cooling down, but a symbol of traditional Chinese culture.
The history of Chinese fans goes back to the Shang Dynasty（about 1600 B. C—1046 B. C）. One of the carliest fans was known as Shanhan. It was a bit like today's umbrella. It was tied（系）to a carriage（马车）to keep people away from the strong sunshine and rainfall. Later, Shanhan developed into a long-handled fan called Zhangshan（障扇）.
In fact, the fan was not used to help people cool down until the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, fans were usually made of birds' feathers and mainly used by the emperors. Later, bamboo fans and cattail-leaf fans（蒲扇）were invented during the Han Dynasty. Both were most popular among the common people during the Song Dynasty.
Years later, the folding fan was introduced. As this kind of fan could be easily folded and carried, it soon became popular. However, the best thing of a folding fan was the pictures on it. If a famous person painted the fan, it could cost a lot of money. For example, a folding fan painted by Zhang Daqiari was sold for $252,000．Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong were also well known.
Throughout history, Chinese fans have stood the test of time. Today, there are more than 500 kinds of fans in China, attracting（吸引）a great number of fan lovers both at home and abroad. However, it's difficult to carry on our traditional skills of making fans among young people now for many reasons. Luckily, Tag Design made a meaningful try. It developed an app "Folding Fan" which introduces the skills for making traditional folding fans. With the help of technology, these fan-making skills are surely able to stay alive forever.
