Fine paper-carving is a unique craft in Yueqing, Wenzhou. Derived from paper-cutting, it started in the Yuan Dynasty, over 700 years ago, and flourished in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and early Qing Dynasty (1616-1911). It was at first used to decorate dragon boats. Such paper carvings have a delicate and elegant style, in sharp contrast to bold outlines of paper cuttings popular in northern China. There can be as many as 50 lines carved on a piece of paper as small as 10 cm2, each as thin as a human hair. And the patterns are properly designed to ensure no superfluous cut. A carver uses a carving knife with its blade as thin as 0.35mm, and a plate placed under the paper to be carved, for the convenience of removing any unwanted part. Assisted by latitudinal and longitudinal grid lines carved out by a knife, the carver can carve out any embellishment and pattern he wants. Compared with paper cutting, paper carving shows more delicate, bold and straight lines of different varieties. And the whole pattern is more beautiful with fine engraved lines, hence the name fine paper-carving.