The workshop has collected about 6,400 old Yangliuqing print plates. Wang says they will remain as the foundation of creativity no matter how time changes.

In the old days, the master craftsmen would always hide some "secrets" from apprentices, fearing they would nurture competitors, but Wang says he will pass everything he knows on to those that follow him into the trade.

He now has a 28-year-old apprentice, the youngest in the workshop whose name is Xi Wang.

Maybe it is predestined. In Chinese, xiwang means "hope".

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn