Changzhou welcomes expat group with local tea culture

Expats focus on making paper-cuttings of their own under the guidance of Yang Zhaoqun, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage, in Changzhou on April 21. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On the second day of the trip, expats visited the Jintan Ancient Books Printing Factory and learned to make their own paper-cuttings at Jintan Paper-cutting Arts Center.

According to Yang Zhaoqun, inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage, Jintan paper-cutting is special in that it uses a specific knife to carve patterns on paper instead of using scissors to cut it out.

“I really enjoyed paper-cutting because of the beautiful results and the relaxing process. It is something I want to share with my family in Mexico because I think they will really like it too,” said Nathalie Nunez Sanchez who has lived in China for eight years. She mentioned that in Mexico, there is a similar folk art called papel picado and people use it to create decoration for holidays, particularly Día de Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead.

Expats show off their paper-cuttings at Jintan Paper-cutting Arts Center in Changzhou on April 21. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]