And, for the well-known tale, Yugong Moves the Mountain, Zhou Lan depicts the protagonist as a turtle instead of an old man.

All her figures and settings are fashioned from cloth and employ traditional Chinese dyeing and weaving skills. She says it took five months to finish the 20 paintings of cloth art, adding: "I hope to show younger readers more dimensions to traditional Chinese arts, such as handicrafts."

Curator Zeng says it's important for artists to keep an open mind and create stylish books that adapt ancient Chinese culture with a modern appeal. "As artists feel more confident in their national heritage, they can keep one foot in their tradition, while the other advances onto the modern world stage," Zeng says.