Chinese Papercutting Workshop

Papercutting is done using folded paper and scissors or a sharp knife. The most common motifs are auspicious characters (for example, double xi 喜 for wedding blessings or fu 福 for good luck at Chinese New Year), zodiac animals, birds and flowers. Almost all motifs have another meaning behind them, for example, the combination of magpies and plum blossom signifies ‘joy filling you up to your eyebrows’ (喜上眉梢).

In this class you’ll learn how to cut some common characters and motifs under the guidance of an experienced teacher. As well as the papercutting workshop itself, there will be a presentation on the language and history of Chinese papercutting, enjoy Chinese tea and snacks, and join us at a local restaurant for a delicious dinner of Chinese dumplings!

Your day with us will begin with a pickup at Tuanjiehu subway station. From there, our driver will bring you out to our culture centre, located in Xiaopu Art Village, Tongzhou. The journey is usually a 40 minute drive. Upon arrival, you will be invited to enjoy Chinese tea and snacks, before taking an hour-long guided tour of the village with our native-English speaking guide.

Arriving back at the centre, participants can enjoy an English presentation on the history, culture and language of Chinese papercutting. This will be followed by the workshop itself, taught by one of the local artists who live in Xiaopu Art Village. During the workshop, participants will be shown several of the techniques used by papercutters, and then be invited to create their own works of art under our teacher's expert guidance.

At the end of the class, participants will be able to take their creations home with them in envelopes.. At this point, we will walk 5 minutes to a nearby Chinese dumpling restaurant and enjoy dinner and Chinese tea, before you are picked up and dropped back at Tuanjiehu by our driver.

In summary, the entire length of this program is 7 hours, broken down as follows:

1pm - Pickup from Sanlitun (Tuanjiehu)

1:45 - Arrive, have tea and snacks

2pm - Tour of Xiaopu Art Village

3pm - Papercutting culture presentation

3:30 - Chinese papercutting class

6pm - Dinner

7:15 - Head back to the city

8pm - Arrive Tuanjiehu