Paper-cut artist draws inspiration from ethnic cultures

At the International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Wang Ge, a paper-cutting artist, runs a small booth where dazzling examples of her work on display in the popular tourist destination.

With just a pair of scissors and paper, the 65-year-old indigenous craftswoman creates traditional festive animal paper-cuts, fruit, landmark buildings and even complicated dance scenes.

Wang is an inheritor of Xinjiang's intangible cultural heritage of paper-cutting. Growing up in the region and influenced by diverse ethnic cultures, she is committed to telling Xinjiang stories through her paper cutting while protecting and promoting the traditional folk art.

She has cultivated her craft since childhood and grew up in a family fond of the skill. At the age of 4, she began to copy her grandmother and mother, using scissors to cut out patterns of flowers, birds, fish and insects.