Zhang Kehua and his vases at his home in Qianjiang, Hubei province. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

When it comes to making vases, Zhang Kehua has more than one ace up his sleeve.

The 65-year-old craftsman from Qianjiang, Hubei province, uses playing cards to make his creations, some of which stand about 1 meter tall.

The first stage is drawing a blueprint. Next, Zhang folds the cards into shapes, which he uses for parts of the vase. Then he begins to assemble the piece.

The highlight of the vases is the patterns.

Zhang creates two distinct styles: One is geometric, featuring squares, diamonds and triangles; the other uses traditional Chinese motifs, such as the dragon or phoenix.

Zhang Yi contributed to this story.