Small is beautiful

Li, who majored in sculpture at Shandong College of Arts, is behind the first scale model studio of its kind in the country exclusively dedicated to replicating traditional Chinese folk houses.

"Miniature modeling began early in the West but it primarily focuses on engineering structures and natural landscapes, like trains or the Grand Canyon," said Li.

Li's works are mostly 1:30 scale models that replicate elements within a Chinese rural courtyard, including the main house, plants, domestic animals, farm tools, interior furnishings and various other natural and man-made surroundings.

"Completing a model with all the accessories usually takes one to three months. The time depends on the complexity of the work," Li said.

Customers who come to Li with requests for miniatures usually provide photos of their houses from different angles, he said. But the challenge arises when they cannot supply photos and Li has to create a model based solely on their descriptions and memories of their buildings.

"Some individuals have vacated their rural houses and they have no images of the place. Some museums with exhibitions of villages also want to represent their historical development but do not have any relevant material for me to work with. I have to replicate the items through historical texts," he said.

The initial step is to craft a 3D model with computers, then refine the model until the customer recognizes it as an accurate representation, Li said. After, he focuses on the "texture" of the accessories.

The creation of accessories in the courtyard demands considerable patience. For example, to craft the branches of the palm-sized persimmon tree, Li used 521 pieces of 0.02-millimeter light iron wires.

He uses "composite materials" to put together the folk house and courtyard. Dozens of materials have been used, including common substances such as wood, metal, mud and plastic.