Wen Tao, master of paper cutting

Paper-cutter Wen Tao, in her 40s, thought she was too shy to do business. "I could only dream about people coming for my works," she said. But her dream came true.

The first time Wen set up a street stand was on the second day of the first Pingyao International Photography Festival. Shyness kept her home the first day.

"When I finally got to the street, I just buried my head in the stand and kept cutting." Wen said.

Her business was bad until a foreigner came to her stand. As an antique shop owner helped her to bargain with the customer, Wen stood quietly by the side like a passerby.

"120 yuan (US$ 17.5)." Wen heard the price, she couldn't believe it. Nor did her townsmen.

It became a legend. "120 yuan for a piece of paper, can you believe it? I can't," villagers said.

What they didn't know was that Wen took a whole week to cut the artwork which was a meter long and 35 centimeters wide.

Wen inherited her workmanship from her family. The edges of her scissors, an heirloom from her grandmother, were worn by 15 cm. Wen's small shop on the street is flooded by customers every day.

She has bought a laptop and a digital camera. "I take pictures while touring the country. They are my inspiration. " Wen said. She is now better equipped but she still insists on cutting the papers with her own hands. Only now she has more patterns in mind.