Paper-cutting (Guangling Dyed Paper-cutting)

Guangling dyed paper-cutting has a long lineage: research traces an early form to the early Tang, with its distinctive style taking shape in the Ming and carried down to today. It is the signature folk art of Guangling county in Datong, set apart by vivid color, lively forms, fine lines and delicate blade work, and praised as 'a marvel of Chinese folk art.'

Unlike ordinary scissor-cut work, Guangling paper-cutting centers on knife-carving and dyeing, passing through stages of design, smoke-tracing, blade-carving and coloring. It includes positive-cut, negative-cut, multi-color and dyed types, and the finished pieces carry such rich gradations of color that they read almost like paintings.

Guangling dyed paper-cutting was inscribed in 2008 on the first national list of intangible heritage expansion projects (item no. VII-16); in 2009, as a core component of 'Chinese paper-cutting,' it entered UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — a cultural calling card carrying Datong to the world.

Guangling county has built a large dedicated paper-cutting museum and cultural-industry park, gathering historic works and the knife-and-dye craft in one place — the central spot for understanding this art.