Donkey Barn Village, or Lufangcun in Daxing District, is about an hour's drive south of downtown Beijing. Primarily an agricultural area, most of the houses have been rebuilt, in courtyard style, in the last 20 or 30 years.

But the faces of its people their family focused, communal way of life have remained unchanged for centuries. The mod cons of day-to-day life -- electricity, television, running water, and a few motor cars -- are very different.

But when it comes to dying, then customs which span the millennia are the norm for locals and those in many parts of China.

Villagers said proudly that their village's name was given by an emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who stayed overnight at a nearby village on his way to inspect the empire's territory south of the Yangtze River. His imperial majesty's slumbers were disturbed by the braying of donkeys from a nearby village and thereafter it was called Donkey Barn Village.

Today it is known far and wide across the area and for one of its inhabitants, a man named Liu Baotai.

What makes the 56-year-old different is his rare mastery of the skill of "paper craft," or zhihuoer.

But Liu's paper craft is very special. He makes corteges of life-size horses, carriages, treasure chests and attendants from paper and bamboo to be burnt as part of funereal rites.

The age-old belief is that the paper objects will magically turn into real things the dead can use in the afterlife.

Liu said the custom of burning a cortege is thought to date back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), when rulers had elaborate funerals with countless treasures and valuables, horses and even their wives and concubines entombed alongside them.

The laobaixing or ordinary people, perhaps out of envy or maybe simply seeking to secure their passage into the next world found their own way to follow the example of the high and mighty and honoring their dead. So the custom of making a paper cortege and a tradition which has survived over 2,000 years began. The cortege includes models of all the things their loved ones would need to enjoy in the next world.

Liu said the craft was promoted by Confucius (551-479 BC) who advocated the filial duty of children towards their parents, part of which included the holding of a decent funeral.

Changing times

Before 1949, people held much larger funerals and the paper corteges were much more complicated, said Liu. And relatives of the dead often ordered the craftsmen to begin working on building a cortege months before the death.

After 1949, the practice of a cortege continued, but to a lesser extent. During the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), many relics, literature, anything connected with what was considered feudal and decadent was condemned. And traditional funereal rites, corteges in particular were prohibited, branded a legacy of the despised feudalist society.

During the "cultural revolution" the link between a feudal mindset and traditional cultural customs and practice -- the legacies of a nation, and common to all with a long history -- was muddled. Holding and preserving old customs, myths and legends adds to the richness of a culture, a fact that is more and more recognized today.

After 1976, the practice was restored gradually, but the scale of the cortege remained moderate. It usually takes Liu and two of his helpers two or three nights' work to finish a cortege. Liu charges around 200 yuan (US$24) for one set.

A standard cortege includes a two-wheeled carriage, two full-sized horses, two foals, two chests and two attendants.

A woman's cortege has all these plus an ox or cow. The connection, somewhat tenuous, is that water was involved in most of a woman's daily work -- washing clothes or dishes, cooking meals, cleaning and so on, and cattle drink a lot of water.

At the head of the cortege are the two chests carried by attendants. One contains hay to feed the horses, and the other treasure, essential for a long journey.

The two horses are probably the most eye-catching part of the whole procession. Both are brightly-colored and adorned in a detailed and delicate way. The bridle and saddle are made of paper with reins of colorful tinsel. Its tail and mane are a strikingly different color and their hoofs are black and shiny.

The wheeled carriage is replete with portiere hung across the front with two small tinsel lanterns.

The two attendants are given the names of the deceased's closest relatives, people who have already passed away, such as his or her parents. It symbolizes that the parents serve as guides to take care of their children on their journey to Ghost City.

Family affair

Liu met his wife Zhang Xiumin through a matchmaker. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Making corteges is a part-time job-cum-hobby for Liu, an electrician by trade.

The son of farmers, Liu learnt paper craft in primary school. The teacher taught the whole class the craft, but only Liu carried it on. Such skills are, he says, no longer taught in the local primary school.

But Liu has been passing on the skills to his 31-year-old son, a local taxi driver.

The most challenging part of making a cortege is the bamboo frame, with each model individual.

After the framework is made with split bamboo, secured by thread, a kind of papier-mache is wrapped around it. It is then decorated with colorful tissue paper. To replicate the fur on the horses and hair of the attendants, strip after strip is cut and feathered to produce the right effect.

"My craft (making funeral paraphenalia) has not had a detrimental affect on my life. On the contrary, it has improved my status in the village," Liu said proudly.

(China Daily April 5, 2005)