Striving to keep a New Year tradition alive

"Printing one piece after another all day long can be very tiring," Fang said.

"So, you must be really interested in it, be hardworking, and you need to handle loneliness very well."

Some of Fang's students are building on the master's techniques and looking to innovate to appeal to a wider audience.

Fu Xiangpeng, 31, has designed a series of products with New Year prints on them, such as fans, plates and lucky red envelopes.

"We hope the products will be popular, but we must not lose the essence of the art," Fang said.

In 2006, a museum was opened that aims to preserve the art. Wang Zude, 77, serves as its senior adviser.

He encourages his students to innovate and create new prints, teaches nianhua on weekends and tells primary school students stories about it.

"Kids love stories, and the stories behind the art help shape a sense of our own cultural identity," Wang said.

In 2012, he designed a series of New Year prints for the 12 zodiac signs, to appeal to a younger audience.

Suzhou No 1 Middle School has offered selective courses teaching local traditional art, such as New Year prints and Kunqu Opera, since 2010. Students from the United States have come to learn at the school every summer since 2014.