Giant Manchu papercut depicts Chinese New Year customs

SHENYANG -- Dogs dragging a sleigh, steamed buns and fireworks -- Lunar New Year customs of the Manchu ethnic group - have been scissored out of a 20-meter roll of paper.

Guan Changsheng, a retiree in northeast China's Liaoning Province, cut the roll of festival activities now on display at his studio in Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County.

Guan, 73, said he did not prepare any sketch in advance and that cutting the roll took him three months..

"I just cut with my scissors using my imagination," said Guan, adding he learned the skills from his grandmother and mother.

The roll is composed of 16 individual pieces of paper, arranged chronologically to show traditions from the eighth day of the 12th lunar month to the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

In one piece, a man driving a dog sleigh carrying his wife and kids, is greeted by his parents-in-law at their gate.

"A visit to the wives' parents are a tradition for the second day after the New Year, and I wanted to add peculiarly Manchu elements from northeast China, such as the dog sleigh," he said.

Papercuts and couplets are traditional decorations for Chinese New Year. People often cut auspicious images, such as birds and flowers, into red paper, and post it on a window or ceiling.

With a history of over 200 years, Xinbin paper cutting is a state-level intangible cultural heritage.