China's women learn the art of living

In a corner of a cultural and creative industry park in Beijing's central Chaoyang District stands Cao Xue's gallery of "floral aesthetics." Here eight young women are learning the art of flower arranging in the "Bouquets in Spring" course.

Over an hour, Cao explains and demonstrates basic skills from trimming to packaging. Even those with no previous experience soon know how to make a presentable bouquet of freshly-cut flowers.

Every Saturday afternoon, Cao's weekend class ushers in new students. Most are white-collar women from Beijing, but others travel from other cities just to attend the class. When it's over, one woman will travel five hours on the train back to her home in Shenyang, holding her bouquet.

Cao is one of China's most high-profile floral designers. He has provided bouquets for celebrities, and designed floral works for fashion magazines and exhibitions. Last year, his business began opening to ordinary people.

"Women are 85 percent of my customers," Cao says. "The traditional Chinese idea of buying flowers as a gift is changing as more people want flowers to decorate their lives and to please themselves."

With spring blossoming across northern China, Cao's course is always fully booked a week ahead.

In many large and medium-sized cities, people are keen to do more than work and make a living. They want a better quality of life and leisure activities that raise their spirits -- so flower arranging is blooming.

Online consumer guide dianping.com provides more than 600 search results under the craft menu in Beijing, including flower arranging, tea art, pottery and baking. These workshops can cost from several hundred yuan to thousands.

"To celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, I will join a pottery or baking workshop to make a gift or cake for him," says Huizi, who works in a bank on Beijing's Financial Street. "A lot of my friends do them too. They help us unwind and add a little spice to our lives."

Huizi and her close friends often sketch together in a studio in central Beijing on Thursday evenings. Her cellphone is full of photos of her works, which range from still-life and landscapes to cartoons of celebrities. "Our tutors are professional art teachers or students, but we're not required to paint like they do. In most cases, they guide me to what I want to depict. For example, on Mother's Day last year, I painted 'Blooming Carnation' under the direction of my teacher. Although it was only A4 size, my mom loved it after I had it mounted."

Huizi shares the works from the Thursday studio on social media or offers them to friends. Several of her colleagues are planning to join her at the studio.

Self-indulgence is also on the rise in Handan city, 450 km from Beijing.

After graduating from university, Xiaoshuai worked as a user-interface designer in Beijing, but her passion was baking. Two years ago, she resigned and returned to Handan and established a bakery that sells customized cakes and baking courses.

"Some mothers come with their children to make little biscuits or simple cakes," Xiaoshuai says. "In a city like Handan, very few families have baking facilities at home. Demonstration classes, with the tools and ingredients provided, encourage young mothers to give it a try."

She sees herself spreading the joy of baking. "More people want to make cakes or gifts themselves. Although the cost may be higher than shop-bought equivalents, they embody more emotional meaning and they are more precious."

Xiaoshuai believes more of China's metropolitan residents are learning the unseen value of do-it-yourself skills and the huge market will expand further yet. Endi