In the past 20 years, the BETS has become a place for lovers of folk toys to get together and study. Among the members of the Committee of Folk Arts and Crafts, there are dozens of expens who are specially engaged in the study of folk toys. They study folk toys' historical origin and artistic principles, aesthetics and the relation between folklore and the toys.
Through concentrated study, handicraftsmen developed folk toys into works of art. Straw-weaving, for example, used to be restricted to making frogs, dragonflies or fish, but now the art has developed to include several intricate toys which evoke lively story 
plots. Veteran handicraftsman, Liang Renjun has also succeeded in creating a new kind of kite, which can be disassembled, making it portable as well as the perfect gift.
With a history of over 100 years, dough figurine making in Beijing has developed its own style originated by the old generation of handicraftsmen-Master Zhao, Master Tang and Master Lang. Nowadays, all five children of Master Lang have followed their father in toy making. With a wide range of subject matters, their work has received high praise from both domestic and foreign visitors. Master Tang's son, Tang Fengguo is now a professor in the College of Arts and Crafts of Qinghua University; the figurines he created, based on the characters in international literary classics, are vivid and lifelike. The kites made by Master Ha's fourth successor, Ha Yiqi are considered to have surpassed those in the previous three generations. He is therefore often invited to give lectures and demonstrations overseas.
