Gan Erke, a master lacquer artist who lives in eastern China's Anhui province and whose work is also on show, compares making lacquer ware to conducting oneself in society. "It needs to be genuine, introspective and discreet, and make people feel that your beauty is deep inside.

"A person should behave the same way either in front of people or away from them, and so it is with objects of craft that should be perfect in appearance and at the core."

Artists devote themselves wholeheartedly to helping people appreciate the beauty of crafts on a spiritual level, he adds.

Zhang Fuye, a scholar from Tsinghua University's academy of arts and design, says: "What we are doing is to face both the present and the future, to renovate and create works that keep pace with the times. It is an important task."