For centuries, children in North China wore tiger-head shoes. The shoes are so named because the toecap (鞋头) looks like the head of a big tiger. The traditional shoes are much like the animal itself.

It was until about 30 years ago, the shoes began to ________. However, Hu Shuqing, 51, from Henan Province, has spent many years ________ more than 10, 000 pairs of the shoes. She will give most of them to public museums, so that the next generation and the one after can see them. Chinese people began making tiger-head shoes in ancient times. The ancient people believed images (图像) of the animals, which were thought of as the king of beasts, could protect their children. That's one ________ why the shoes can still be seen now. On the other hand, the shoes look nice and can keep warm. In the north of China, it is very cold in winter. The shoes are good for keeping babies’ feet warm.

Tiger-head shoes have many ________. Some people change the images of tiger heads into frogs or peacocks, while more designs ________ spiders, snakes and scorpions (蝎子).

Hu was born ________ a family of paper cutters. Both her mother and grandmother could also make tiger-head shoes. “My daughter wore the shoes her grandma made when she grew up,” she said.

But her hobby for collecting the shoes did not begin until 2000, when she found a ________ pair at a Spring Festival market. “The images of tigers on the ________ were   embroidered (刺绣) according to paper-cutting patterns,” she said. From that day on, she has collected the shoes. She ________ collected in her home town, then in other provinces such as Hebei and Shandong.

Hu often goes collecting ________ September and December. “Kids wear tiger-head shoes in winter,” she said. “They are pretty and warm.”