Zhang Baolan works on a cotton wool drawing at her home in Yanta district, Xi'an city, Shaanxi province, March 20, 2017. The gorgeous peacock is pieced together using dyed cotton wool, and this is just one part of a bigger artwork Peacock and Peony Painting. It will take her three weeks or more to finish the whole work.

At six years old, Zhang Baolan started learning the art of cotton wool drawing from her grandmother and mother, who were both enthusiastic about paper cuttings and fabric art.

"The cotton wool drawings made by my grandma and mother were quite simple and I started to make it more elegant and elaborate from 1986 when my daughters went to universities and I had more time to work on the art," Zhang said.

Now the 69-year-old's cotton wool drawings are quite popular overseas and she has been invited to hold exhibitions in several countries and regions. Many of her artworks are collected by art institutions or private collectors in the United States, Germany, France, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Even the former US president Bill Clinton collected one of her cotton wool drawings during a state visit to China in 1998.

Zhang's cotton wool drawing was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Xi'an city in 2011. To help pass the skill down, Zhang has complied textbooks for teaching, and she teaches students in a school of special educational needs each week. So far, she has taught at least 200 apprentices in total.

The process of making cotton wool drawings is arduous and the long hours of toil have harmed her neck and eyes.

The first step is to select fine cotton wool. The breed Zhang uses is super grade cotton wool bought from pharmacy. Then dye the cotton wool in a hot pot and dry it in the sun.

When painting, first draw clear outlines of each part on a piece of paper and then paste the dyed cotton wool on the paper. The materials for each painting are cheap and easy to find, while the outcome is vivid and amazing.