The privately-owned Ma Ruote Clay Figurine Museum in Jinxi town, Kunshan, was founded in September 2012 and contains more than 200 works from Ma Ruote and his father Ma Zhiguo.

Ma Ruote was raised in a farmer's family in a small village in Hebei province. He is now living in the mountainous areas in central Henan province along with his father. Village life is where he draws inspiration and his father's practice in clay modeling has influenced him a lot.

Chinese clay figurine works from Tianjin, Wuxi in Jiangsu province and Fengxiang in Shaanxi province are coated with colors that denote cheerfulness and joyfulness. However, Ma's works add no touch to the true color of clay. They are pristine and unadorned and boast a unique aesthetic value.

Sculptures of villagers playing traditional musical instruments are called Huan Qing, meaning "celebration". [Photo from Jinxi Tourism WeChat account]