Thanks to Zhang's efforts, Pingyao clay figure sculpting was listed as a city-level intangible cultural heritage in 2015, and he was granted the title of city-level inheritor.

He began teaching that same year.

So far, about 10,000 students have learned from Zhang in a variety of ways, including through live classes, school courses and intangible cultural heritage study tours.

In 2017, he joined an intangible cultural heritage folk art team, teaching students at colleges and vocational schools in Jinzhong about traditional arts like clay sculptures.

"For my father's generation, making sculptures was just a way to make a living. They didn't realize the value of traditional Chinese culture," he said.

"As the country has placed more emphasis on intangible cultural heritage, more traditional skills are becoming well-known.

"As an inheritor of Pingyao clay figurines, I hope to tell more people about the art. It will be my lifelong mission," he added.