County climbs out of poverty, brick by brick

Based on a pattern sketched on a smooth, green brick, Guo Aijun carefully used sculpting knives to carve out each leaf, branch and petal of a peony, which is his favorite pattern. The finished work will be used for architectural decoration in the northwest region of China.

The brick carving in Linxia county of Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, Gansu province, is widely used in temples, gardens and residential buildings with patterns like flowers, dragons, phoenixes, birds and clouds.

Guo, 33, is an apprentice and has been carving brick sculptures for five years. The first step is to grind the green bricks, and he recalled that it took him a whole week of learning and practice to smooth them out.