Dalian craftsman creates dough figurines of Olympic athletes

An artist in Dalian, Liaoning province, has crafted dough figurines of Chinese athletes to cheer for the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

"I have admired professional athletes since I was a child," said Liu Jicheng, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage.

"This time, with my works, I captured the signature movements of 11 outstanding athletes such as Ye Qiaobo, Wang Meng and Wu Dajing," said Liu, also director of the dough modeling lab at the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts' Dalian campus, which is located in Dalian Jinpu New Area.

In order to make the best figurines, Liu carefully watched videos of the athletes competing in the games, observing their movements and facial expressions again and again before starting his work.

He also read news reports to learn their stories.

Usually, it takes four days for him to complete one dough figurine. However, it took him only 20 days to complete the 11 by Lunar New Year's Eve.

"I was so excited this time. Sometimes I forgot about eating and sleeping," Liu said.

Liu has loved dough figurines since childhood.