Exquisite art coaxed out of its shell

Sitting in front of a cutting wheel in his studio full of seashells, artisan Jin A'shan takes a few pieces, fashions them into different shapes and quickly polishes them. Within minutes, ordinary abalone shells are magically transformed into pink flower petals and colorful peacock feathers.

Jin has devoted nearly 60 years to shell carving, doing the same things day after day, including designing, carving, grinding and polishing the shells.

"Shell carving is my life. I love it," says the 79-year-old in his studio in Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

Boxes of shells are piled up in his studio, along with half-finished works, such as shell paintings and sculptures. Walking out of his studio, a wondrous world reveals itself — a museum housing Jin's shell works, many of which are large and shimmer with a luster unique to shells.

The finger-sized shell petals Jin produces make up the thousands of components of his larger sculptures, such as qilin (a mythical creature representing good fortune and safety), dragons, and ships several meters in length. Many of his works have been collected and exhibited by major museums across China.

"Humans started shell carving thousands of years ago. They were used in daily life for decoration. With the improvement of carving tools, I can make them into artworks of paintings and sculptures," says Jin.

Standing in the central hall of the Shell Carving Art Museum is a smaller version of a wall replicating the Nine-Dragon Wall in Beihai Park in Beijing. All the nine dragons carved into the wall, together with hundreds of smaller ones of varying colors, are made from seashells.

Creating the wall took Jin and his team two years to complete, with more than 10 craftsmen involved in the project.

Two colorful shell qilin stand next to the wall, with both inspired by the qilin in Beijing's Forbidden City.

Apart from dragons and qilin, the red-crowned crane is also a subject Jin loves to produce. All these creatures are regarded as auspicious animals from ancient Chinese times. "I prefer to find inspiration and stories from traditional Chinese culture," says Jin.