Crafting a career

Around 100 young people from districts around the city participated in the event, showcasing a variety of skills, from paper quilling (transforming strips of paper into decorative items) and traditional Chinese snack-making to more modern activities, such as those related to robotics and electronics.

The event was held as a prelude for the 2021 World Skills Competition, which will also take place in Shanghai.

Pu says the key to creating a vivid panda model lies in the facial expressions and the eyes.

"I referred to photos of pandas rather than cartoon images when making the models. A good piece of handiwork is a result of lengthy observation," says Pu, a teacher at the Shanghai Tangshishi Baking School.

Besides the cake, she also exhibited fondant flowers, which took her just two minutes to twist and fold into shape. Just like the pandas, Pu refers to real flowers before creating their fondant counterparts.