But for Zhao, who was born in the 1950s and started his apprenticeship in the industry in the 1970s, it's been a different story of the velvet flower. The factory he worked at, together with hundreds of similar ones in the region, no longer produced velvet flowers but animals like bunnies and chickens to export to foreign countries for Easter, as the domestic political situation meant there was a limited market for ornaments.

The process of making a velvet flower, or velvet animal, is complicated, consisting of at least 10 steps beginning with the boiling and dyeing of the silk. Even the simplest piece, such as a lily, takes about two days to complete.

Most of the factories divided the flower making among several workers. Zhao, who describes himself as a person who easily gets bored by doing the same thing, worked hard to excel in every step, "stole" the trick of every new step, and became the few people to master all steps of the craft.

"I didn't get to choose my career, but I choose to be curious and proficient," he says.

Yet, the "garden" Zhao cultivates now is stuck in the winter again as no new "gardeners" are willing to follow his path.

With one year to retirement, Zhao worries who will inherit the skills of creating his never-ending garden.

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