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Dong Jifa devotes his life to collecting ancient tiles in Ganyao town, Jiashan county. [Photo/cnjxol.com]

An exhibition of exquisite tiles will take place in Jiashan, a county in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province, from Oct 2 to 31, Jiaxing Daily reported.

The exhibition will showcase roughly 100 collections by Dong Jifa that comprise Beijing bricks, eaves tiles and brick carvings.

Dong, a native of Ganyao town in Jiashan, holds many titles, including chairman of the Jiashan County Local Archives Collection and Research Association and a promoter of kiln culture in Ganyao.

Dong's interest in ancient tiles started when he was a child, but it was only in 1946, when he was 28 years old, that his passion was ignited after coming across a tile used on eaves that featured a dragon design.

Over the past 40 years, Dong has traveled through 1,796 villages in Jiashan and collected over 3,000 pieces of ancient tiles. He said that each of the tiles in his collection provide a glimpse into history and how people used to live.

According to Dong, Ganyao town started making tiles in the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties and the industry hit its peak in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Ganyao town used to house thousands of kilns that produced tiles and Beijing bricks that were used to construct historical buildings like the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace and the Temple of Heaven.

Dong cleans a tile with an exquisite dragon design. [Photo/cnjxol.com]