Gu Huixian makes skeletons for a dragon. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]

Gu Huixian, a renowned handicraftsman of making Shuangfeng dragon and phoenix in Taicang, Jiangsu province, hopes to revitalize the folk culture and make it popular again among young people.

"It's Qiu Guoliang, inheritor of Suzhou intangible cultural heritage dragon making, who discovered me," said nearly 70-year-old Gu in a recent interview.

Gu was a craftsman who makes articles from bamboo strips maker when he was young and usually sold his articles at local market. Qiu liked Gu's handicrafts, so he hired Gu to make dancing lions at his factory.

"Later, I've got to know why Qiu wanted me," said Gu. "It turned out that weaving skeleton is key to making a dancing lion. Without a solid skeleton, it's impossible to wave the dragon."

In 2003 Gu became the manager of a newly-founded folk arts and crafts factory.

In order to better manage the factory, Gu asked his two sons to learn how to make dragons and phoenixes.

Their products are now sold all over the country and even exported to foreign countries.

In 2012 a 5,560-meter dragon made by Gu and his sons set a Guinness world record for the world's dancing dragon.