Zhou highlights a small pomeloskin tea canister, a signature product of Guilin lacquerware. Each May and June, young pomelos that fall from trees in Guilin are usually discarded.

Local inheritor Wang Boyang started collecting them.

"He removes the flesh, steams and dries the skin nine times, then applies layers of natural lacquer. The result is a tea canister that can age Liubao tea (a local specialty) for years," Zhou says.

Wang applied to copyright his technique. While this does not prove that registration alone drove his success, companies have been far more willing to invest since he secured the rights, Zhou says.

In addition to showcasing the fruits of folk art protection through copyrighting, the Beijing exhibition also aims to turn them into experiences that travelers will pay for, especially along tour routes.

Zhou recommends that visitors buy Maonan bamboo hats, which young men from the Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county would give to women as tokens of love during the sanyuesan festival.

The hats are ideal gifts for tourists, she says.