Carvers make a lifetime's commitment to their art

Walking down an alley off a bustling street in Chongwenmen, downtown Beijing, it's easy to miss a sign next to a small glass door that announces the Beijing Ivory Carving Factory, so very few people enter the simple facade.

A workshop housing about a dozen craftsmen is located just to the left of the entrance. Noise and white ivory dust fill the air every time the cutting machine is in operation.

Removing a thick, protective mask, Guo Chen, 29, revealed his face. In 2009, the graduate of the College of Art and Design at Beijing University of Technology was one of seven graduates recruited by the factory, the first time the carving workshop had seen new faces in two decades. Prior to the recruitment, the youngest craftsman was 54.