(ECNS) -- Dough sculpting is a traditional Chinese folk craft. Dough is turned into vivid characters by Yu Qiquan, a dough sculptor.
Quick modeling of dough is his specialty. He can even finish a dough portrait on the spot in a dozen minutes.
Yu once made a dough portrait for Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, during her visit to Shenyang in 2016.
Catching a person's characteristics in a moment needs both talent and long-time training, said Yu.
Yu has participated in many art exhibitions at home and abroad including Germany, South Korea, and Singapore, and performed on the spot in order to promote dough sculpting.
He once created a six-meter-long Along the River During the Qingming Festival, a Chinese painting depicting daily life and landscapes of the capital of Northern Song (960–1127).
This work, consisting of nearly 1,000 figures with differing, vivid expressions, took him more than a year and consumed over 100 kilograms of flour. Yu has been dedicated to dough sculpting for decades. He loves it and will create more works reflecting popular culture and concerns.
