Tradition beats on Taiping Road

"As we carve the basket, we have to insert the knife into the spaces between the latticework to hollow out the inside of the basket and carve little crabs and lobsters inside. We often find it difficult to manipulate the blade, because the small size of the holes hinders us from freely using it," says Chen Jia.

"The finished item is visible in a series of clear layers that demonstrate the intricate craftsmanship involved in its creation," she adds.

A similar degree of meticulousness can also be seen in Chaozhou embroidery. When Kang Huifang, a national-level inheritor of the craft, made the Golden Arowana, she used silk threads in 18 colors to embroider the eye of the fish, so that it had a vivid expression just like a real fish.