Paper-cutting artworks (images made from card) were in great demand in Hushan Mountain, Cixi county of Ningbo city, in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They were mainly applied to embroidery on shoes, skullcaps, and clothing, and when a girl from a rich family got married, her embroidered shoes, long scarf and qipao would be adorned with paper-cut works. After the 1911 revolution, out of the dislike of miscellaneous steps of paper-cutting and embroidery, some women chose to portray the patterns with calico paper and then embroider them with "pengjia" (a bamboo or wood frame used to support the calico paper ). The original function of paper-cutting gradually disappeared since pengjia embroidery is more beautiful.

At present in Hushan, paper-cutting artworks are usually used for decoration and appreciation, and their themes are often traditional auspicious Chinese patterns, such as dragons, phoenix and tigers, as well as the Chinese characters "Xi" (meaning happiness and joy) and "Shou" (meaning longevity).