A wide array of novelty products lined Chongqing Road in Tianjin, attracting youths, children and even the elderly.

The sight was part of the Cultural and Creative Festival on Chongqing Road, one of Tianjin's acclaimed tourist attractions due to its historical significance. The public event, taking place during the Labor Day holiday, was a great success. Aside from a showcase for grassroots handicrafts, the event marketed Tianjin's cultural diversity.

Modern youngsters nowadays pass the time plugged in to computers. They may roll their eyes at the thought of plain or striped paper notebooks. Nevertheless, the cloth-covered and subtly ornamented notebooks on display drew huge crowds.

"Regretfully, computers and software are making paper notebooks less and less common. I want to revive the waning tradition," said the creator.

"Writing on a real sheet of paper is more satisfying than typing into a keyboard".

"I was initially inspired by a similar craft exhibition in Beijing's 798 Art Zone. Since then I considered launching my own one stall. If my creations can incorporate my talent in painting and calligraphy, then so much the better," she sweetly recalled. "The patterns on every piece of art are painted personally and by hand."

Designs featuring rustic sceneries seem to help the writer relax, keeping them focused on writing.

"You see," she says as she runs her finger through a few lines in a notebook's front page, "I include inspiring mottos from influential Chinese people in hopes of motivating the younger generations."

A trendy accessory booth was another welcome draw. Named Small Dust All Night, the booth offered raw materials that were offbeat and elusive, including polymer clay (or soft pottery clay) and felt.

Spectators were fascinated with the dazzling designs, cherry-picking their favorites.

Some items were fashioned into amusing animated cartoon characters. The three-dimensional cartoon figures came alive through the molded soft pottery clay that resembled plasticine.

Earrings were also on sale, tailored with magnets in place of hooks to attract buyers without pierced ears. Those with hooks could be personalized on site.

Another vendor, Tang Yue, a senior from Suzhou University, branched out by making gadgets using hair felt.

"Hair felt is scarcely used in the Chinese mainland, yet it prevails in Taiwan and Japan, where it has become wildly popular," she said. "I kept an eye out for the rare material until I it was able to get my hands on it."

Processing the tangled felt into a product is technically demanding.

"Take a felt-surfaced phone shell for example," she said, "it requires fluffing the felt by hand, rolling it flat and gluing it on a phone shell's surface, gingerly inserting the colorful field into the base and embroidering the final touches."

Tang Yue said she traded self-made bits and pieces across dormitories on campus, earning pocket money to ease expenditure burdens for her family.

A postcard booth lured in many foreigners who were hunched over jotting down greetings to their friends. The postcards' photos were all shot by the stall-owner, capturing Tianjin's scenic spots, peculiar architecture and cuisine.

"My simple intention is to promote Tianjin's personality throughout China and the rest of the world. People who receive postcards can get a preliminary picture of Tianjin at least," she said.

A selection of hand-made fabric items were on show in another booth, including a card holder, pendant and key bag. Neat stitches were literally visible on each of the crude but exquisite works.

The booth's catchy brand name also hints at its fabric-making theme. Bu Xiang Zhang Da, which means "do not want to grow up", is a pun because "fabric" and "do not" are both pronounced bu in Chinese.

Bao Jianbo, manager of the Five Avenue Tourist Service Center, said that such an event, regularly held during Chinese holidays, allows a mixture of sightseeing, entertainment and shopping. It ignites the younger generation's fascination with Tianjin culture and encourages potential development.