At the annual China Central Television (CCTV) Spring Festival Gala on January 31, a piece of Yantai paper-cutting work captured the audience's attention.

Liang Qiaoyan, an inheritor of Yantai paper-cutting art, created the vibrant tiger-themed paper-cutting piece. Yantai paper-cutting art is a national intangible cultural heritage item.

This year is the Year of the Tiger, and according to Chinese tradition, the tiger is a lucky animal and it symbolizes strength, courage and health. The vivid tiger-themed paper-cutting artwork for window decorations is popular during the Chinese New Year.

"I spent more than a month to design the paper-cutting design, and I felt so happy that my work was selected into the culture performance part of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala," Liang said.

She added that in recent years, Yantai has made great efforts to promote the innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, which has laid a solid foundation for the protection and inheritance of the country's historical and cultural heritages.

Liang Qiaoyan, a Yantai paper-cutting art inheritor, displays her tiger-themed paper-cutting piece, which was selected for the CCTV Spring Festival Gala's culture performance honor. [Photo/Dazhong News]