On September 12, 2022, a delegation consisting of Li Li, Deputy Director of the Consumer Goods Division of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Henan Province, Li Guiling, President of Zhengzhou Cultural Center, He Rong, Executive Vice President of Zhengzhou Culture and Art Exchange Association, and Ma Shouguo, Vice President of Zhengzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Association and Head of the Voluntary Service Project on Intangible Cultural Heritage titled “Listening to Stories by Grandfather” organized by Zhengzhou Cultural Center, came to Gongyi to investigate the inheritance and development of Heluo paper cutting in recent years.

Heluo Paper Cutting is an intangible cultural heritage project in Henan Province. As an important part of the Yellow River culture, it originated from the Heluo area in the Yellow River Basin. Cao Huizhen, the successor of Henan provincial intangible cultural heritage, has been working on the research and development of Heluo Paper Cutting and public welfare inheritance for many years, and has successively held 471 public sessions of “One Lesson a Week”. He has trained more than 4,000 trainees and led them to create a large number of excellent paper-cutting works, which were exhibited and awarded in multiple large activities.

First of all, the delegation visited Heluo Paper-cutting Research and Study Base, Yuancun Village of Heluo Town, which is the birthplace of Heluo Paper Cutting, and Heluo Fuyuan, marveling at the rich exhibits and collections in the research and study base. A plaque of “Intangible Cultural Heritage Cooperative” was awarded to “Paper Cutting Hall”, a studio of Heluo paper cutting in Yuancun Village, Luozhen Town.

In Heluo Fuyuan, the delegation attended the closing ceremony of the sixth Heluo paper-cutting training class. The sixth batch of training class has organized a total of 10 sessions, and 19 out of 20 trainees who took the theoretical examination and practical operation examination obtained certificates of completion, and six out of them were rated as excellent trainees. The delegation watched the works of the trainees, listened to the speeches of the trainee representative, and issued the certificate of completion to the trainees. Also, they took on the Chinese red outfit cut out and experienced the Heluo paper cutting art.

Li Guiling spoke highly of Cao Huizhen’s exquisite paper-cutting skills and noble spirit of selfless dedication. She also encouraged Cao Huizhen and his trainees to strengthen cultural confidence and make innovation while sparing no efforts to inherit excellent intangible cultural heritage, so as to embrace the 20th CPC National Congress with practical actions.