In Search Of A Robotic Helping Hand

Renowned food company Wufangzhai wants to boost productivity and efficiency by using machines to wrap its famed dumplings, igniting debate about whether technology is making humans redundant

Hu Jianmin is known as the "chief hereditary craftsman" of wrapping rice dumplings, a skill that was in 2011 listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, alongside the creation of qipao dresses and the construction of Shanghai lane houses.

Having been in the profession for nearly three decades, Hu spent three years mastering the various steps in the process, from how he should butcher a pig to how to best fry red bean paste to steaming rice. Today, the 55-year-old can wrap at least 3.5 dumplings in one minute. It is considered a speed that most people cannot achieve, considering the complexity of the craft.

There are 36 steps in the process of making a rice dumpling. The last six steps, which include wrapping the dumpling, polishing the bamboo leaf and tying the bundle together with cotton thread, are considered the most difficult.

Over the past several months, Hu and his company Wufangzhai have been preoccupied with boosting efficiency: they're looking for robotic hands that can help out with the tedious task of wrapping. The company predicts that its output can be increased by 50 percent if such machinery is used alongside workers.

In April, two months ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival during which rice dumplings become as essential a food as turkeys during Thanksgiving, the company posted a notice on its official website and social media accounts, offering 10 million yuan ($1.45 million) to any institute or individual who can invent a robot that can wrap rice dumplings as nimbly and quickly as human hands.

Held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year, the festival is celebrated as one of the most important traditional Chinese holidays. This year, the festival falls on May 30.

Made from sticky rice and a special bamboo leaf that is native to East Asia and has a unique fragrance, rice dumplings vary greatly in taste and sizes depending on region. The savory types, which are usually filled with salty egg yolks and pork tenderloins, are the most popular in cities south of the Yangtze River. Those filled with sweet red bean paste are well-received in the northern part of the country.