Foreign anchor Alisher learns about stone carving with local artist. [Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In Wenzhou, there is a nursery rhyme called 12 Lunar Months, which integrates Wenzhou's traditional customs into a song. Meanwhile, a craftsman in Wenzhou has carved 12 stone-carving works according to this nursery rhyme. Each one of them is incredibly exquisite. In this video, foreign anchor Alisher takes us to appreciate the time-honored Wenzhou stone-carving art.

According to the historic records of Wenzhou County Annals, Wenzhou stone carving is a tributary of Qingtian stone carving. There were craftsmen engaged in stone carving as far back as the Tang Dynasty (618-907), making seals, incense burners, utensils and architectural ornaments. In 2011, Wenzhou stone carving was added into the list of Zhejiang Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritages.

Chen Shunde, an inheritor of Wenzhou stone-carving, introduces that artists of Wenzhou stone-carving art are good at adopting different colors and shapes of stone, by the use of traditional skills as hollowing, garden carving, relief carving and shallow carving, to carve out the patterns of landscapes, figures, flowers and animals, or the daily necessities such as vases, lamps, ink cartridges, seals and book clips.

The 12 Lunar Months reflect Chen's love for his hometown. And he will integrate more Wenzhou elements into his creation, making more excellent stone-carving works.