A puzzle was presented by a miniature mountainous landscape with velvet flowers, birds and rabbits in a recent episode of CCTV's Chinese Poetry Conference, a show that gathered enthusiasts of ancient poems.

The scene brought to life Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Wang Wei's composition that describes a leisurely and comfortable night in a peaceful valley with flowers falling quietly.

The delicate velvet flowers are made by Cai Zhiwei, 52, the sixth-generation inheritor of velvet bird and flower making, a Beijing intangible cultural heritage.

Having devoted himself to the skill for two decades, Cai is inheriting, innovating and promoting velvet flowers in his own way.

"In brief, the velvet flower is a craft that uses mulberry silk to make the surface details with wire as the framework," Cai explains. "The skill can be used to make many things besides figures including birds, flowers, insects and landscapes."

The skill of making velvet flowers originated in Jiangsu province's Yangzhou city and spread to Beijing during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Cai says that one theory about the origin of the art is that people in ancient times loved beauty, and they would wear real flowers in their hair in the summer and in winter, decorated with colorful ribbons.

"Some smart maid found a way to make handmade flowers for their mistress," Cai says, adding that an early form of velvet flowers can be found in Tang Dynasty murals.

Cai grew up in the former Chongwen district which merged into Dongcheng in 2010. "Chongwen district was known as a hotbed of craft skills. It was home to many handicraft workshops and each family made things," Cai recalls.

In Chongwen, there is an area named Huashi (flower market) and four streets spreading in four directions are named after the area. According to Cai, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it used to be a market and production area for all kinds of artificial flowers, including those made with velvet, silk and paper.

According to Cai, at that time, the craftsmen making handmade flowers founded an association and had a custom that, on the 20th day of the third lunar month, all of them would bathe, change their clothes and offer the flowers they made to the gods to ensure their lives and business prospered in the coming year.

Cai explains that in 1960, in Beijing's Huashi area, a velvet bird factory was founded, which mostly catered to overseas customers celebrating Easter and Christmas. Consequently, the velvet bird became synonymous with velvet products made in Beijing.

In 2002, Cai started to learn the skill of making velvet flowers from Gao Zhenxing, a master of the art.

Cai was originally in the construction material business, and his sudden career change was not understood, nor supported, by his family.

Cai recalls when he was a child, at school there was a handicraft lesson, in which he learned how to make a kite or mold clay figurines. "I had a childhood interest in it, and in my 30s, I decided to make a career change into velvet flowers," he says.