Singapore's last known craftsman who creates hand-made lions heads as part of the age-old custom of lion dancing has shared how his passion for the craft is unwavering despite increasing competition from cheaper, factory-made options.

Veteran artisan Henry Ng has been in the business for over three decades and is now locally regarded as a master for his skill in the ancient art form which is thought to date back well over a thousand years.

Far more than merely choreography and costumes, Ng considers the lion dance be a sophisticated art form of emotional expression with vibrant performances that tell compelling stories.

Featuring two dancers hidden away under each colorful lion costume, the lion dance is considered by many as one of the most iconic forms of Chinese celebrations, and is commonly seen during festive occasions such as the Chinese New Year.

Working 12 hours a day, it usually takes Ng around five days to complete a single lion head. During that time, he must build the scaffolding, use adhesive to apply the paper, and complete two stages of decoration on the finished structure.

Ng's fascination with lion dancing started in school where he trained as a young lion dancer before teaching himself how to craft the heads -- a process that involved much trial and error, as well as countless strips of bamboo.

The major turning point in his life came in 1995, when Ng made the bold call to quit his job as an aerospace engineer to pursue his passion full time.

"I felt that aerospace was a challenging job. I thought this was going to be my career for life. Slowly, I started feeling that this is not what I want, because I wanted something that’s more challenging. When I resigned, I didn't know what I would be doing. My friend told me, 'you can make lion heads.' Who knew I would continue doing it until today?" he said.

When Ng first started his full-time career as a lion head maker, there were around 10 other contemporary craftsmen in Singapore. As the old generation of artisans dropped out, however, few have stepped up to take their places. Throughout the years, Ng has taken in several apprentices, but seemingly none of them had what it takes.

"People today are not so good in terms of courtesy. So they would say that they want to learn from you, but in terms of attitude and performance, I don't see much hope in them," Ng said.

As time wore on, however, Ng found himself struggling to compete against a new era of cheaper, mass-produced factory-made alternatives flooding the market.

With the higher costs associated with his more precise way of doing things, Ng's business struggled to compete with the mass-produced alternatives which were becoming more readily available.

But despite the availability of these cheaper options, many traditional lion dancers still prefer the artisan quality of Ng's hand-crafted lion heads even though his products cost about 1,100 U.S. dollars, compared to just 300 dollars for the factory-made heads.

"In the past there were no imported lion heads, so most of the lion heads were made by local masters. But one by one the local masters have either passed on or given up their craft. So, there was a period of time whereby there was an influx of factory-made and mass produced lions and people were naturally drawn towards that because of the lower cost," said Adrian Chia, president of the Xinyang Athletic Association, a club dedicated to lion and dragon dances.

Chia said he keeps a collection of over 50 of Ng's works, including some of his earliest pieces. He says that in terms of materials, paint work and lacquer, Ng's heads beat the competition in every category, which means that using them in dances lends a certain prestige, particularly now that he is Singapore's undisputed number-one lion head craftsman.