The art and craft of paper cutting

The first thing that greets visitors at Gao Fengying's home is a stocky, floccose burro foal. "It was born just last week ...," says Gao Lailiang, Fengying's father, apologetically. "Even Fengying has not seen the new member of our family. She is too busy with her paper-cutting course in the town," Gao Senior says.

The cave-house of the Gao family is no different from others on the Loess Plateau in Ansai, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, except for the eye-catching red-colored paper cuttings on the walls and windows, whose reflection lits up the dark inside of the cave.

"My daughter was born in this cave. She dropped out of school because of poverty and has worked as a farmer since childhood. She started learning paper cutting from the age of 8. She is a bright girl ... (but) I didn't think she can make a living out paper cutting," Gao Sr. says.