Paul and Dorothy on road to Laershan in 2002. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Americans Paul Lacy and his wife, Dorothy Lacy, are from Maine, are in their seventies and have run an embroidery workshop for 15 years in Fenghuang county, Central China's Hunan province.

Dorothy is also known by her Chinese name, Lei Tianci (雷天赐), which she created. When asked why she came up with such a name, she explained that her surname Lacy sounds like the Chinese character Lei and "Dorothy" in Greek means "God's gift", which is similar to the meaning of "Tianci" in Chinese.