Tashi Tsephel (left) instructs woodblock one of his students in a workshop. [Photo by Palden Nyima/China Daily]

Tsultrim Darje, 37, another woodblock artist in the village, said he started learning the skill in 2016 through an apprenticeship with Tashi Tsephel, and it took him 18 months to learn the skills.

He works an average of 11 hours a day. Each year, he works more than eight months on the woodblocks, and spends the rest of the time farming.

“I earn an average of 40,000 yuan ($5,800) every year from working on the woodblocks,” Tsultrim Darje said.

“Every woodblock costs between 400 yuan and 800 yuan based on its quality, and I can finish an average of four per month.”