Legacy Trails: Papercutting and love

Cao Hongxia is a fifth-generation papercutting artist from Yulin in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

"I often get asked when I started papercutting, and my answer is: 'Maybe when I was in my mom's womb,'" she joked.

Cao's journey began in her childhood, watching family members create papercuts under the glow of a kerosene lamp. At the age of three, her curiosity led her to tear a piece of a Spring Festival couplet to make a paper flower. Her mother reprimanded her, but she also recognized Cao's budding talent. From then on, she taught her daughter the techniques of papercutting.

Cao draws inspiration from the rich culture of northern Shaanxi, bringing folk songs, local customs and proverbs into her works. Her pieces beautifully capture the essence of the region.

Cao's art has also been internationally recognized. In 2014, when Michelle Obama visited Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, Cao created multicolored papercut portraits for the then-U.S. first lady and her family.

Cao believes the future of intangible cultural heritage lies in grabbing the attention of younger generations. To her, papercutting is not just an artistic expression but a cultural legacy. "To carry forward folk art, we need to integrate it into our families and communities," she said.

(Video filmed by Hu Rui; cover designed by Liu Shaozhen)