Lastly, "ash-patting New Year paintings can best embody the feeling of a traditional Chinese New Year," said Shi Jianting, the inheritor of the traditional New Year painting. More than 10 of his New Year paintings had been ordered before Spring Festival.

In China, only Shandong's Gaomi has this kind of New Year ash-painting.

Shi Jianting shows his ash-patting New Year paintings. [Photo by Sha Jianlong/chinanews.com]

"To finish an ash-patting New Year requires 60 steps which takes nearly one whole month to complete. In paintings, figures' costumes and hair need to be carefully painted," said Shi.

How to pass down these traditional art crafts has become the biggest concern for the inheritors in Gaomi. They are satisfied with the way that intangible cultural heritages are promoted on campuses through cultural performances and cultural exchanges. However, these inheritors also hope to begin using more "trendy" ways to help young people learn to love these old skills.