It takes more than 15 days and 72 steps for three or four craftspeople to make a paper umbrella.[Photo provided to China Daily]

For 81-year-old Liu Youquan, Liu Weixue's grandfather, his childhood memories were closely connected with paper umbrellas.

But, in the 1970s, seemingly overnight, paper umbrellas disappeared as modern umbrellas became widely available.

In 1982, Liu Youquan came up with the idea of reviving the dying handicraft and bought 100 sets of bamboo frames and shafts at a price of more than 100 yuan ($14.56). It was a lot of money at that time, when a factory worker earned just dozens of yuan a month.