Coming across  Mexican Paper-cut In 1995, I got a chance to participate in the NGO Forum of The 4th Conference of World Women held in Beijing. When wandering through the exotic Cultural Tents, which were arranged by women from countries all over the world, some colourful paper-cut pendants, hung on long ropes, caught my attention. They looked just like Chinese Spring Festival ornaments! It was then that I found out that the paper-cuttings in this Latin American Tent were the work of a Mexican women. So, I showed great interest in the Mexican paper-cuttings and learnt that  Mexican paper-cutting originated in Indian culture in the Columbian period and is related to the ancient practice of sacrificing the dead. Some Mexican women took out some hand-made paper called " Amard" and told me that the method of making such Amard paper was very similar to the paper-making method used during the Han Dynasty which was made by pounding mulberry and fig. It can be used to write ancient Mayan scripts and also be made into sacrificial items. The Indians often decorate sacrificial altar with paper-cuttings to mourn the dead. In the Mexican Ghost Festival, paper-cutting is of critical value.