The many studios lining the street are a showcase of local crafts. Chen says that historically, due to the lack of farmland in the area, people turned to making handicrafts that could be sold to Southeast Asia to make a living.
To make their work competitive, they devoted great effort to perfecting their work.
One symbolic local craft is wood carving. Chen Jia, an inheritor of the craft, who has a studio on Paifang Street, says it used to decorate beams in traditional Chaozhou homes.
