As a British freelance photographer based in Shanghai, I've been living in this amazing country for just over three years now. During these three years I have seen and experienced much of Chinese culture and its traditions. Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to leave behind the hustle and bustle of Shanghai and escape down south to the subtropical province of Fujian.

I stayed in the provincial capital, Fuzhou, a medium sized city of 6 million.  I had heard the area was famous for its wood carving, in particular Buddha and Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) statues, as well as the huge ornate solid wooden tea serving tables often seen in upmarket tea houses and shops. I ventured around the outskirts of Fuzhou and soon found some of these wood carving workshops. In one particular area they ranged in size and scale from small independent workshops and converted rooms in family homes, where the father would do a single project at a time, to much bigger operations where they get huge weekly deliveries of raw material – tree trunks and tree roots. I chose the biggest wood carving 'factory' to take photos.

This facility has a huge outdoor courtyard area where deliveries of wood sit until they are ready to be taken inside and carved. Most of the work is carried out within a two-story warehouse. The first floor is filled with unfinished sculptures and figurines, which appear to be randomly scattered. After talking to the workers, I discovered the room was divided into sections from carving the initial shape with a chainsaw, to fine detailed carving and sanding of the finished products. On the second floor was the show room where potential customers could browse works and request original commissions.

Fujian's most famous wood carvings are primarily made from the Longan tree. Local artisans in Fujian have been making highly skilled Buddha statues and Guanyin figurines since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. They use the Longan roots with its natural twisting and rough node characteristic and transform them into amazingly intricate sculptures of birds and snakes living in trees, as well as mythical beasts from Chinese legends. 

The sculptures from this workshop are sent all over China and abroad, either to private collectors, distributors, Buddhist temples or grand tea houses. The price tag for such pieces runs into tens of thousands of RMB. Considering the average local salary is around 1,000RMB a month, just selling one or two sculptures a year is enough to keep bread on the table for most independent sculptors. Skilled carvers at the factory can earn in excess of 10,000RMB per month which is a huge amount of money outside of Shanghai and Beijing. Most of these artisans got into carving from an apprenticeship, learning the ropes as they went. Nearly all are locals who grew up in the area and continue to live close to their workplace.