Northern getaway

Tourists can take a class at his studio to learn how to make their own paper-cuts.

Chen says it takes at least three years for apprentices to master the technique. Only those who can endure hardship will persist.

Many locals, who are migrant workers, can make paper-cuts when the demand is higher, as a part-time job to supplement the family income.

Local craftspeople have also made such items based on the theme of the Winter Olympics. Some of the artworks are on display at Yuzhou Museum, which is a must-visit and showcases cultural artifacts, such as animal fossils, pottery pieces, ceramics, embroidery, paintings and stone statues.

One of the most interesting exhibits is a miniature kitchen range from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), with a colorful painting of three women cooking barbecue. Five pieces of meat are hung on a thick rod as one woman chops meat on a board, another holds the pieces on a stove while the third arranges containers for the food.

A funerary object there vividly demonstrates the daily life of the dynasty's aristocratic families.

In Nuanquan town in the county, dashuhua, a traditional show, dates back 500 years. Staged during Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first lunar month, it has become a regular commercial performance for tourists.

While two performers are in charge of smelting iron and transporting the liquid metal, other blacksmiths who wear sheepskin coats inside out and wet straw hats take turns to use a large wooden ladle, which is soaked in water, to scoop the molten iron onto the city wall, creating a spectacular shower of sparks.