The artisans of Taohuawu use the “one block, one color” technique, meaning they carve one woodblock for each color intended for use in the final painting. That means if there are 10 colors in one print, 10 individual woodblocks have to be meticulously carved with precision so the colors won’t overlap with each other. This technique makes designing and producing the prints particularly challenging, and a complex woodblock-printed nianhua created in this way could take years to make.
