Giving shape to ideas

Craftsmen in Beijing's art zones work hard to develop their trade despite a struggling global economy. Wang Ru chats with the makers of our monuments.

In a factory workshop in northeast Beijing's Heiqiao art zone, a group of workers has nearly finished a set of clay sculptures, including three 5.5-meter-high horses and a giant statute of Genghis Khan.

Zhang Bao, 31, with his blue jacket spattered with clay, uses a laser pointer to direct his workers climbing on the iron supports around the statues.