Wooden weapons made by Lin Jinhua. [Jiang Pan/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Mace, sword, club, reaping hook — a variety of weapons can be seen in the home of Lin Jinhua, a resident of Ninghai, Zhejiang province.

At 9 pm most days, Lin, 68, has usually fallen asleep. But this day he is busy making little wooden weapons.

"Making a mace is the most time-consuming because every spike needs to be made smoothly," Lin said.

He has been practicing carpentry in the village since he was 18.

"It takes most other people three years before they can work independently in carpentry. But I started taking jobs in three months," Lin said, exuding confidence.

As a program to revitalize the countryside and enrich villagers' everyday life, professors and students from Donghua University in Shanghai came to Zhangkeng village in Ninghai with the idea of making creative products using local resources.

Lin is participating in the program, which started on Sunday. "It takes two hours to make a sword, and three hours to make a mace," he said. A voulge is more complicated: fire is needed to make the wood curve.

Wooden weapons made by Lin Jinhua. [Jiang Pan/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"We are going to build weaponry in Lin's home, as the couple are both good at it," said Ning Qian, a student at the university.

Making wooden weapons is not just for fun; the items will be sold and bring economic benefits to residents, Ning said.

Zhangkeng village has a 500-year history of traditional kung fu, including hong boxing and lion dancing.

"Considering the follow-up effects of the program, we want to forge the whole village into an IP unit," said Chen Qingjun, a professor and leader of the program.

As it makes full use of local resources, the program is starting to take off. Five local enterprises specializing in equipment for outdoor sports and gear for tourism are coming to the village to gauge the potential business opportunities.

Wooden weapons made by Lin Jinhua. [Jiang Pan/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wooden weapons made by Lin Jinhua. [Jiang Pan/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]