Henan, a major wheat producer in China, has an abundant supply of straw. Farmers in Henan’s Qingfeng County have inherited a thousand-year-old folk art tradition that’s made them a fortune: pasting and patching straw patterns into works of art.

For a time, the booming sales of straw patchwork was hit hard by oversupply, shoddy products, and shrinking demand following a government restriction on public spending on luxury gifts.

In response, most of the straw art studios have changed their products from luxury gifts to household decorations. The themes of their work have expanded from traditional motifs like dragon, tiger, and cattle, to flowers and birds.