Twenty enthusiasts of traditional Chinese paper-cutting (or jianzhi 剪纸) worked under the wing of Beijing-based master Jiao Wenjun in Beijing on Saturday.

Jiao, an 87-year-old retired military veteran, is a paper-cutting star in Beijing. While his incredibly intricate, lace-like works often deal with contemporary topics, his style and aesthetics are rooted in his attachment to the country.

Taking up the craft as a hobby, he received his first paper-cutting prize in the army in the 1950s. After retirement he began voluntarily teaching paper-cutting to those who were interested, attracting people from all walks of life, from primary school students to civil officials.

In 2008, when the Olympic Games were held in Bejing, he and 40 of his students cut out a piece that was 20.08 meters long to express their support and affection for the event.

An estimated 20,000 people have learned paper-cutting from him in the past 10 years. His workshops have recognized for their excellence with a service award.

The 20 traditional culture enthusiasts who met with him on Saturday were participants in the intangible cultural heritage experience program, Great Seed, a global community for enthusiasts of intangible cultural heritage. They learned about and experienced this heritage through close talks with inheritor masters, and from hands-on experience.

They learned how to make paper-cuts of ancient coins under Jiao's guidance. Although hard at first, in the end, even the youngest participants who came with their parents were able to cut out coins by themselves.

"I'm happy to do it with my mom. I really enjoyed the process," said Li Junyi, a 7-year-old who attends No 2 Elementary School of Hua Yuan Village in Beijing.

Great Seed, a global community platform aimed to help intangible cultural heritage enthusiasts communicate, share, experience and inherit intangible cultural heritage worldwide, is now recruiting people who will learn and experience such heritage.

Through June 9, 2019, 1,000 people around the world will be recruited to connect with 1,000 inheritors to have an in-depth experience with different forms of intangible cultural heritage.

Wang Qiao contributed to this story