Ancient craft blooms again

In Chongwen, there is an area named Huashi (flower market) and four streets spreading in four directions are named after the area. According to Cai, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it used to be a market and production area for all kinds of artificial flowers, including those made with velvet, silk and paper.

According to Cai, at that time, the craftsmen making handmade flowers founded an association and had a custom that, on the 20th day of the third lunar month, all of them would bathe, change their clothes and offer the flowers they made to the gods to ensure their lives and business prospered in the coming year.

Cai explains that in 1960, in Beijing's Huashi area, a velvet bird factory was founded, which mostly catered to overseas customers celebrating Easter and Christmas. Consequently, the velvet bird became synonymous with velvet products made in Beijing.

In 2002, Cai started to learn the skill of making velvet flowers from Gao Zhenxing, a master of the art.

Cai was originally in the construction material business, and his sudden career change was not understood, nor supported, by his family.

Cai recalls when he was a child, at school there was a handicraft lesson, in which he learned how to make a kite or mold clay figurines. "I had a childhood interest in it, and in my 30s, I decided to make a career change into velvet flowers," he says.