The dramatic improvement in people's livelihoods, however, means paper cuttings might no longer adorn the cave-houses. And that will endanger the survival of the folk art form.

So why did Gao Fengying set up the company and the workshop.

"I want to pass down the folk art form to future generations. But I also want to show it can be used to make money ... and change people's lives. Only when the business is sustainable can the art form live," she says.

Thanks to the support of the local government, her workshop started operation on March 5 in Xiasiwan of Ganquan. She is happy to see the classroom is full of people, mostly unemployed rural women, with some standing and listening to her instructions.

"I like drawing pictures since childhood," says Liu Dongdong, 29. "I am very happy to attend the workshop. Ms Gao's teaching method is lively and informative. It is easy to understand... she wants to help us. I want to acquire the skill and ability to design and operate independently ... so that I can increase my income."

And Tuo Zhenqin, a 34-year-old mother of three children who is a reserve drum performer for tourists, says she has always wanted to learn paper cutting, and the workshop provides her with that opportunity. "If I master the skill I can sell my works to tourists. She (Gao Fengying) teaches a skill ...she also teaches local culture to the young people."

Gao Fengying is happy to learn that her burro back home has given birth, because she has "a new model in the paper cutting".

"I cannot wait to see it" she says about her new "model".