Biz Scene: BIZ UNUSUAL

Paper-cut art boom

Selling various paper-cut works of Chinese traditional styles, Zhao Yingmei's store, located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, has become a hot business and receives crowds of customers daily.

The beautiful delicate paper-cut art can be attached to glasses and metal items. If customers provide their own photos or drafts, they also can produce custom-made paper-cut works to meet every individual's need.

A woman from North China's Shanxi Province said her store now generates up 5,000 yuan in profits per month since opening six months ago.

Cashing in on change

In recent months, supermarkets, restaurants and stalls in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, have posted signs indicating that they lack change.

As the "change scarcity" spreads across the city, some residents have set up businesses providing change to cash in on the phenomenon. They collect change from vegetable markets, and sell it to big stores or restaurants by charging 2 yuan in fees for every 100 yuan. The professional change providers claim that they can earn over 10,000 yuan a month.

(China Daily 11/27/2007 page15)