Xu has been trying to use bread to cross over into other kinds of art. For that, she is collaborating with illustrators and designers to experiment with new bread-based artworks.

She plans to make bread hats with her milliner friend, and has made a dog collar in shape of a braided hoop for pets in conjunction with a designer.

The breads are all edible and can keep for a long time, if properly stored.

"Guangzhou is quite humid, so I have to leave the dehumidifier on all night or it will go moldy," says Xu.

"During the pandemic, because I couldn't go out to buy fresh flowers, I made bread in decorative shapes and put them in vases."

To Xu, the process of making bread is like "breeding life".

"If you knead the dough well enough, you may even feel its response to you, as if answering your move by revealing various patterns," she says.