The Qingyang sachet, a time-honored cultural craft in Northwest China's Gansu province, is popular among youngsters.

Ke Shangxian, a Russian man who has lived in Qingyang for three years, went to a folk culture industry center in the area on Feb 9 to learn how to embroider Winter Olympic mascot-shaped sachets.

Two inwrought Winter Games mascots -- Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon -- appear prominently among various Qingyang sachets. [Photo by Pan Xiaomei]

Craftswoman Zhao Lijun (L) shows a foreign resident how to stitch the panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen. [Photo by Pan Xiaomei]

"Qingyang sachets boast a vast collection of designs and patterns, and are filled with rich aromas. People like to carry these sachets to worship totems, avoid evil spirits and bear their hopes for safety, fertility, love and a better life," according to Liu Lanfang, lineage holder of the craft and manager of a local sachet-making company.

The oldest existing Qingyang sachet is over 800 years old, excavated in 2001 in Huachi county in an ancient temple built during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).