Pop-up books are often thought of as a way to fascinate and educate children. But these movable books, as they were once called, were originally meant for adults. Photographer Colette Fu is using pop-up photography to reach across generations and help preserve her culture.

In 2008, Fu received a Fulbright scholarship to create photographic pop-up book portraying the 25 ethnic minority groups of China’s South West Yunnan Province. She spent 2008 traveling in China and devoted the following year to bringing her pop-up images to life.

Fu’s recent creation, Tao Hua Yuan Ji (“The Peach Blossom Colony”), set a record as the world’s largest pop-up book. It measures 13.8 feet by 21 feet and is 5 feet high (4.21 m x 6.4 m x 1.52 m), which makes it possible for people to not only enter the pop-up book, but also sit inside it.

Full Frame visited Colette Fu in Philadelphia while she was working on this unique project.