Performer during the festival's opening ceremony. [Global Times]

As one of the homes of paper cutting with more than 200 years of history, Yuxian is famous for its detailed, colorful and lively style. According to Zhou, paper cutting was originally window decoration, and developed over the years by reflecting its unique cultural background.

"Yuxian's paper cutting was inspired by spring festival customs, local opera, embroidery, and festival celebration activities. All these elements are the roots of our works," said Zhou.

Zhou's father, Zhou Yongming, was the apprentice of Wang Laoshang (1890-1951) the Yuxian master of paper cutting recognized today by a statue on the newly opened Paper Cutting Art Street. Wang not only developed new cutting techniques, but also created a series of Peking Opera masks and figures that are considered representative works of Yuxian. His work inspired many people to follow him and make a living by paper cutting.

"I love opera, and like cutting the opera masks as Wang Laoshang did," said 75-year-old Zhou Zhaoming, the nationally recognized paper cutting artist in Yuxian, "it is very difficult to do early on, but as long as you love it, you keep at it."

The elder Zhou was also born in Nanzhangzhuang village in Yuxian County, the hometown of Wang Laoshang. He has created many exquisite masterpieces; some valued as high as 10,000 yuan (US$1,476).

Apart from the elder artists, many young people are also stepping into this industry, providing an important boost of energy to Yuxian paper cutting.

During 2009, there were about 30,000 people working in this industry producing 5 million pieces, which grossed 200 million yuan (US$30.4 million) in Yuxian. The various types included traditional decorations for spring festival, weddings, tourism souvenirs and high quality pieces for collectors.

However along with development, paper cutting also faces problems such as copyright infringements and market competition.

"As a kind of cultural product, we have to consider the balance between business and art, and how to preserve the creativity of traditional paper cutting," said Sun.

"We hope to find suitable ways to help people understand the importance of copyright, while respecting the creativity and originality of the paper cutting," said Gao Dianliang, another golden prize winner at the festival.

(Global Times August 4, 2010)