In the morning of January 24, a group of antique enthusiasts gathered along Riverside Avenue in Fancheng District of Hubei to showcase more than 3000 pieces of porcelain debris collected by them over years and the ingenious artworks created with such debris. The local residents were left dumbfound by such art masterpieces.

Such exquisite artworks, which were made of about 2000 pieces of porcelain debris and made into decorative money tree, sunflower, inscribed board and wearable necklace, drew acclaims from numerous passing residents on that morning.

Of all artworks, the cheong-sam made of blue and white porcelain debris is definitely the most unforgettable one.

According to Wang Helian, the creator of the most striking artwork, the cheong-sam was made of more than 1200 pieces of porcelain debris. It took two years for Wang Helian to collect suitable debris for the art creation. After chopping, grinding, and drilling such debris into blocks of same size about 1.5-centimeter in length and 1 centimeter in width, Wang pasted them onto cheong-sam made of cotton cloth. The special cheong-sam, which spent three months for processing, could be donned by lady of 1.6-meter in stature.

The 46-year-old Wang Helian is the initiator of the 7-member antique amateur group, who all share the same hobby of collecting porcelain debris. Wang formed the hobby eight years ago when he worked in construction site where he strolled around to find porcelain and metal debris. The urban renovation campaign took place in Xiangyang over recent years also provided good opportunities for Wang to find his treasures. “I follow the excavator to wherever it goes”. The two construction sites in Yuliangzhou turned out to be the places frequented by Wang Helian. During the adventure of his treasure-seeking, he was befriended with six like-minded guys and often went together with them for collection and research of debris. “As proved by experts, majority of the porcelain debris collected by us are of Ming and Qing dynasties.”

However, it is by no means an easy hobby. “Not every adventure will be guaranteed with discovery”, recalled Wang Panfeng, the 38 years old guy joining the group about two years ago. As revealed by him, he returned from his hunting journey in Yuliangzhou with bare hands one day after sun setting in last summer. He was harvestless until he was stricken by good luck on way back home. Yet, the luck discovery was gained at the cost of sunburned arms and face. For the sake of not disturbing daily work, Wang Panfeng and his peers often hunted at night for porcelain debris.

To find more like-minded friends is what they want to be rewarded by the show, reveals Wang Helian, “We can donate some of our art creations to art museum for long-term exhibition, if they are widely favored.”