Paper-cut is a popular folk art craft in Yantai area in Shandong province. Boasting for rich contents, compact structures and smooth lines, Yantai paper-cuts are deeply rooted in people's daily life. There are no records about when Yantai paper-cuts came into being, but they already enjoyed popularity in early Qing Dynasty.

Papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus and bottle gourd designs suggest a family with a large number of children and grandchildren. Domestic birds, livestock, fruit, fish and worms are also familiar objects depicted by Chinese farmers. There are some special papercuts of traditional design used as patterns for embroidering clothes, shoes, hats, pillows, bed curtains and door curtains. Papercuts made in different areas have different characteristics. Shaanxi window papercuts are simple and bold; papercuts from Hebei Province and Shanxi Province are bright in color; papercuts in southern provinces are delicate and fine.

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