Tucked away in Liuhai Hutong, near the bustling shores of Shichahai Lake in downtown Beijing is Zhi Ling Fang paper art studio, where the loudest sound is the soft whisper of a blade slicing through paper.

Established by Li Huimin, a 45-year-old paper artist, the studio has provided more than 240 free sessions to her local community, reaching an estimated 12,000 participants both in person and online. One of her recent sessions was at the Mei Lanfang Memorial Museum with a French senior tour group.

In a neighborhood where modern life often widens the gap between generations, the workshop has connected the retired aunties living in the hutong alleyways and the schoolchildren, learning to craft everything from window flowers to paper toys. The appeal extends beyond locals, attracting foreign visitors drawn by the delicacy of the craft.

For Li, a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts with 17 years in the cultural and creative industries, becoming a paper artisan was not part of the original plan. Her career had focused on organizing and presenting the work of others. She served as a key organizer for the paper art division of the 2019 Beijing Cultural Creativity Competition and curated a paper art exhibition that year.

It was during those projects — surrounded by the structural ingenuity of paper installations and the vivid colors of artistic expression — that she felt an irresistible pull toward the material. Fascinated, she began teaching herself the technical language of paper.