Traditional wooden boat making skills (ancient boat making skills) expansion Changshu is located in the Taihu Lake Basin and is close to the Yangtze River and the East China Sea. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the Wuwei Navy was set up in Changshu Hupu Port because "Hupu Port is deep and wide, and can actually hide warships". It was affiliated with Pingjiang Prefecture (now Suzhou) and governed the coastal defense of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian. In the Yuan Dynasty, Hupu set up the Tongshi Hanjun Wanhu Mansion, and Runxun was appointed as the governor of Hupu Road Wanhu Mansion, governing Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian. With the establishment of the military port, the public security situation has been guaranteed to a certain extent, and the functions of Hupu, a high-quality deep-water port, as a fishing port and shipping port have gradually emerged. Its radiation is all about the rich land in the south of the Yangtze River, so it has also attracted many boatmen in northern Jiangsu to move to Hupu, creating conditions for the close integration of boat culture from north to south of the Yangtze River. The thousand-year history of the ancient port, the convenient geographical location of connecting rivers and seas, and the unique cultural concept of openness and inclusiveness of the north and south have made Hupu have the reputation of "Little Shanghai" in the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, when fishing boats returned with full loads, the docks were filled with cheers and firecrackers. The small scalers in the fish shops were skilled in their work. Buyers from all over the country weighed the bright yellow croakers with their fish chips. The air was filled with the unique smell of the ocean. The streets were filled with joyful notes. Restaurants, hotels, warehouses, theaters, and fish shops were doing a booming business. Hawkers, artists, and people from all walks of life gathered together. During the fishing season, Hupu became a festival for people from a hundred miles around. In addition to the fishing operations in spring and summer, after a period of "autumn rest", in winter, the boatmen started the business of transporting goods from north to south through Shanghai. The existence of a large number of seagoing vessels naturally led to the prosperity of Hupu's shipbuilding and maintenance industry. From the raw material wood, bamboo, and lime shops to various specialty stores such as anchors, sails, cables, nets, hulu, putty, and hemp, there are all kinds of stores. Many of them have become well-known time-honored brands for their high quality. Most of the shipyards in Hupu are located on the banks of the Yangtze River. The work sites excavated below the water level are unique docks. Usually, the mouth of the river is tightly blocked, and the boatmen are at ease to use their talents on the platform. When the big ship is completed or repaired, the outlet to the river is opened to let the tide rush into the dock, float the hull, and cut the ribbon to pass. Wei Wenxi, a native of Hupu, was born in 1935. His ancestral home is Xinze Port in Yancheng. He settled in Hupu Town in the Qing Dynasty and has been in the family for six generations. His ancestors were a seafaring family. His father had a five-masted large sand ship. He fished during the spring and summer floods, repaired the ship in the autumn, and traveled back and forth between Shanghai in the winter to carry southern goods to the north, returning with soybeans, soybean oil, Bangzhu (salted pork), Jiaozhou vegetables, apples and pears, etc. These were all distributed in the Shiliupu or Dongjiadu area of Shanghai. Wei Wenxi was influenced by his family and the local environment since he was a child, and he had a special liking for ancient ships. At the age of 12, he learned shipbuilding knowledge from his second uncle Wei Shoushan (a craftsman of the Xinyang Gang), and at the age of 16, he went to sea with the ship and understood and mastered the basic knowledge of wooden sailing. During the voyage, he saw various types of sailing ships, and often secretly figured out the shape and structure of the ships, memorized them in his mind, and accumulated rich knowledge of ships, which laid a solid foundation for his future research on ancient ships. With a deep affection for the cause of ancient ships, in 1990, after retiring, Wei Wenxi devoted himself to the research of ancient ship making skills. We searched for information extensively, studied hard, humbly sought advice from experts and scholars in the transportation department and colleges and universities, and actively participated in international and domestic industry academic exchange activities to absorb nutrition. Based on literature and the wreckage of ancient ships, we learned from others' successful experiences, explored carefully, and practiced hard to develop various types of amazing ancient ship models. In 1993, at the invitation of Mr. Walter Hegman, a ship owner in Los Angeles, USA, we developed an ancient sand ship that met the standards according to the technical parameters of ancient ships proposed by the other party, and achieved success. In 2003, the Huhai Ancient Ship Research Studio was established, which integrates design, production, research, exhibition, and communication. In 2009, based on the studio, the Huhai Ancient Ship Manufacturing Factory in Changshu was upgraded to be established. There are more than 10 employees now. So far, more than 50 ancient ship models and antique real ships have been designed and produced, which have been collected by many domestic and foreign units. This year, the company has undertaken the exhibition of 13 ancient ships and ship models required by the China Maritime Museum (in preparation), which are well-known throughout the country and have a wide social impact. Its achievements are called the "living fossils" of ancient ships by industry insiders. Therefore, it has become the contemporary inheritor of the craftsmanship of wooden ships in the thousand-year-old ancient port. The various types of hulls of Suzhou water town wooden ships have different shapes, realistic shapes, rigorous structures, exquisite production, and fine craftsmanship. The Taihu seven-masted ancient ship, which contains a profound historical and cultural heritage and the exquisite elegance of the Jiangnan water town, is known as the "living fossil" of Taihu Lake. Taiping wooden boats and Hengjing wooden boats are known for their lightness, flexibility and durability, fully reflecting the characteristics of the Jiangnan water town. Various types of antique boats and boat models are carefully designed and produced in strict accordance with the technical parameters recorded in ancient documents and in combination with the specific requirements of the demander. As an outstanding representative of the ancient Chinese wooden boat making skills, Suzhou water town wooden boats are unique and have high historical and cultural value, scientific research value, artistic value, collection value and practical value.