Shaanbei folk arts light up life

Hou Xuezhao had never thought the former recreation "craft" could bring her business opportunities.

In 2008, the year of the Rat according to China's lunar calendar, together with another artist, Hou Xuezhao designed 12 sets of paper cuttings featuring the animal. The cuttings were later made into a wall calendar and 50, 000 sets were sold that year.

As Hou's works accumulate, she decides to find a place to put them on display.

In May of 2009, the Hou Xuezhao Folk Arts Gallery opened in a rented yard.

Since it hasn't been open that long, visitors to the gallery are mainly experts or fans of local folk arts. Some of them are foreign friends, Hou told the Global Times.

Though Hou could not provide the detailed number of visitors, the paintings exhibited have their prices. For ordinary paper paintings, prices range from 300 to 400 yuan, while the paintings on cloth are charged 1000 yuan each as it takes longer to finish and usually last longer compared with paper works, disclosed Hou's husband.

"Most buyers are experts in this filed, and they bought it for the purpose of collection," the Yaogu dancer added.

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