Students with hearing impairments learn delicate art of porcelain carving

Over the past six years, Miao Zhenjie has taught more than 100 students with hearing impairments the skills of porcelain carving at a school for the deaf in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.

Miao, a provincial-level inheritor of the skills, began learning to carve porcelain in 1997, when she was attracted by a folk craftsman carving a lifelike puppy on a white porcelain plate with a small hammer and knife.

The art of porcelain carving has a long history and was appreciated by royals and other nobility during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Various images and patterns, including human figures, flowers, birds and natural scenery, can be created on the surface of porcelain with special tools.