[Photo provided to China Daily]

He hopes the old objects will awaken people's memories of their childhoods, during which things were used and maintained for lengths of time thereby developing an intimacy with the users.

"I believe things get a soul after being manufactured. Despite being used or thrown away, they still embody an inner power that keeps reminding people of their value," Xu says.

Also being held at the Shandong museum is the Eighth Sino-South Korean Sculpture Exchange Exhibition where dozens of works show the latest developments in South Korean art.

Han Jin-sub, president of the South Korea Sculpture Institute, notes that artists from his country and China are seeking to present features of their own cultures and origins, a move forward from the earlier generations that studied mainly Western artists.

He also says Chinese and South Korean artists are discussing ways in which sculptures can be linked more deeply with the lives of ordinary people.

If you go

9 am-5 pm, Mondays closed, through Nov 13. Shandong Art Museum, 11777 Jingshi Road, Jinan. 0531-8130-5008.