Five-meter-long inkstone depicts Dream of Red Mansions

(ECNS) -- A huge inkstone portraying "Dream of Red Mansions," one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, is a prime feature of an intangible cultural heritage inheritor's studio in Shanghai.

At nearly five meters long, 60 centimeters wide, and 20 centimeters thick, the inkstone includes over one hundred character stories from Dream of Red Mansions.

Tao inkstones are found at the bottom of Tao River in the northwestern province of Gansu.

It is one of "China's Four Famous Inkstones", the other three being the Duan inkstone from Guangdong, She inkstone from Anhui, and Chengni inkstone from Shanxi.

The history of Tao inkstones can be traced back 1,300 years, with craftsmanship included in the second batch of the national intangible cultural heritage protection list in 2008.