Carving out a niche

A group of artisans spent a year creating an expansive leather tableau depicting places on the ancient Silk Road, Yang Feiyue reports.

Jia Yufeng was more than thrilled when a scroll of leather carvings she had spent a year working on became the center of attention for visitors to Ordos in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in late August.

The 27-year-old from Beijing played a significant role in bringing the 8.8-meter-long embossed artifact to life, which saw deserts, camels, reclining Buddhas and architectural landmarks vividly carved out of dark brown cattle hides to form one expansive, three-dimensional tableau.