A gold star for effort

Following this initial success, Caiqian posted his second video in August. In the 18-minute video, he re-creates a gold rod that was unearthed at Sanxingdui in 1986.This time, he spent more than four months and about 250,000 yuan buying material, including 900 grams of gold.

"Replicating the rod was much more difficult than I had anticipated. I tried to faithfully forge the gold rod by employing techniques used in the past. Although my steps were not exactly the same as those of old craftsmen, I could understand their desire for perfection," he says.

Amazed by his skill and effort, more than 3.4 million users have followed Caiqian on Bilibili. Some have commented that he doesn't only try to replicate the relics, but, in doing so in such a faithful manner, is "communicating" with the ancient people, dating back more than 3,200 years.

Dubbed as one of the greatest archaeological finds in the 20th century, according to Xinhua News Agency, the Sanxingdui Ruins site was accidentally discovered by a farmer when he was digging a ditch in the 1920s. The excavation of six new pits at Sanxingdui in March re-ignited the interest of the public.