Red Paper Cutting Warm

In the Qilou old town of Shenzhen, Zhang Guilan sticks to the paper-cutting craft inherited from her grandmother. As times change, the audience for traditional paper-cutting continues to shrink. Coupled with the heavy pressure of venue expenses, the paper-cutting workshop that has been operating for many years is in danger and faces closure at any time. The Old Town Cultural Industry Relief Team came to connect with her, abandoning the simple model of direct subsidies and guiding her to see the memory of community humanity behind the paper-cutting. Zhang Guilan repeatedly weighed between adhering to the core of technology and catering to the market. She no longer only made festive window decorations, but also began to customize commemorative paper-cut patterns that carry the thoughts of ordinary people. She launched cultural and creative gadgets suitable for daily life and opened low-threshold mutual help experience classes for community residents. The stories of the old street neighbors are cut into the red paper patterns bit by bit. The operation of the workshop is gradually recovering, and there is an endless stream of visitors coming to check in and experience it. However, check-in experience does not mean the inheritance of skills. Most young people only have a superficial taste, and few are willing to devote their time to learning the full set of paper-cutting skills. The workshop has survived, the craftsmanship has been seen by more people, and the practical problem of inheritability still stands in front of the craftsmen.