Chinese wood carving experiencing a renaissance

Hu Xianmin is in the midst of carving the scenes of a famous oil painting onto a piece of teakwood the length of a snooker cue.

The painting, titled Yu Gong Yi Shan, or "the foolish man who moved mountains", is based on a millennia-old Chinese fable of an old man who devoted his entire life to moving two mountains that prevented his family from accessing the outside world.

The 47-year-old wood carver could be said to share the same grit as the man in the painting. After all, the intricate craft of wood carving, which dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), is painstaking work. It took Hu one entire afternoon just to complete the facial expression of the man, which measured no larger than a matchbox.