Hidden heritage behind Nuo show masks

"The smaller, the more difficult," Yang said, extending her scarred hands.

She said it was more likely that she would cut herself when making the smallest size mask, which would take half a day to finish.

"It tortured me to see her rough hands with scars, but her progress stopped me saying anything," said Yang's husband, who is an art teacher at a local primary school.

He said Yang gradually came into her own style when carving Nuo masks.

She used to depend on her father and husband to draw out features on the masks so that she could follow the draft marks when carving. But she quickly progressed and was able to do it without the help of even a ruler.

"I neither learnt art as my husband did, nor did I have experience like my father, I just carve, following my heart and feeling," she said.

In 2009, Yang was invited by the local tourism bureau to participate in a local folk craft competition and she won the title of top 10 best craftsmen in Tongren region, Guizhou.

Local villagers know her as a carving artisan and almost all the neighboring Nuo performers buy their masks from her.

"Making Nuo masks is a time-consuming process and earns little," said Yang.

The dedicated craftswoman carves during the night as she has to make a living by doing extra work as bus conductor during the daytime.

"We have fixed customers, but our output was limited," she said.