Clock repairman at Palace Museum keeps history in time

Wang Jin and his apprentice, Qi Haonan, are surrounded by timepieces in their office in the Palace Museum in Beijing, April 7, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wang is the third "generation" to repair clocks in the museum since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and Wang's techniques were listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014.

Talking about inheritance, Wang says that he wants to try his best to help youngsters learn the technique overseas, as some foreign countries have special schools where students can learn timepiece repair, but China doesn't.

"Repairing needs the work of one generation after another, as the Palace Museum has more than 1,000 timepieces. Even one day when they have all been repaired, regular maintenance still requires much work", Wang says.