Peach pit carvings by Li Chen, a 53-year-old artist in Anshan village of Tumen city, Northeast China's Jilin province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Once he picked up a peach pit and carved it into a cute rabbit, sparking his interest in the art form.

Since then, he has created lots of peach pit carvings in his spare time, winning several national awards.

Pit carving, or hediao in Chinese, has a long history. It has received newfound popularity since around 2008, when the old technique was put onto the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.