Creating furniture for a modern era

Editor's note: When it comes to quality products, China must embrace the perfection, precision and patience of the craftsman to get ahead of its global competitors.

The China Daily website has produced a series of stories on skilled workers to kindle the "spirit of craftsmanship" among young people.

Here we put the spotlight on a master carpenter in Beijing.

It was not a thriving place but there was hustle-bustle where woods lay piled up for fresh cut at a factory in rural Beijing.

"They have travelled thousands of miles from some Asia-Pacific countries such as Myanmar, Laos and India. Now they wait to become part of traditional Beijing-styled furniture," said Liu Gengsheng.

Liu is the head of Long Shun Cheng, China's top furniture maker, in Beijing. The 54-year-old told China Daily website that he developed his interest in furniture when he was a teen under his father's influence.

Following in his father's steps, Liu began to learn carpentry. He said he knew it was not easy but he never thought it would be such a tough job while being offered range of different practices across the construction and technical application.

"All the types of work I would like to go into are domestic carpentry work, site work and even joinery work," said Liu.