The craft is very complicated. The craftsmen must have a good sense of control as well as master sophisticated painting skills.

In the old days of Beijing, all the households would put rabbit god sculptures on their altars along with some fruit sacrifices offered to the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. After that, the clay sculptures would be given to children as toys, Hu said.

The tradition started to decline in the 1950s, and the craft nearly became extinct in the city.

But, in the 1980s, some of the older craftsmen began to revive the custom.

Hu Pengfei (right), founder and boss of the workshop, introduces rabbit god clay sculptures to New Zealand tourists Basil Afreddy and his wife at Hu's shop in Beijing's Dongcheng district on Sept 8.

"Today, the rabbit god has become an art form that carries on a culture and tradition," Hu said.

Hu is from Northwest China's Shaanxi province, and his family has a tradition of making clay figures.

Although only 31 years old, Hu has been making clay rabbit gods as part of the famous temple fair at the Dongyue Temple during the Mid-Autumn Festival for six years.

He tells the story of the rabbit god to tourists and teaches primary and middle school students how to make the sculpture.

A craftsman paints the front side of a clay sculpture white at the workshop in Beijing's Tongzhou district on Aug 31. White is the base color of the rabbit god sculpture. The backside will not be painted, allowing people to see the real texture of the clay.

"I am not a Beijing native, but I hope my craftsmanship and enthusiasm could allow more people to experience the charm of the rabbit god and ensure that this traditional culture is passed down to future generations," he said.

At present, the Lucky Rabbit Workshop produces more than 10,000 sculptures every year. Most of these handicrafts are sold to gift shops.

Wang Juhong, a 30-year-old female craftsman, paints the dress for a rabbit god sculpture at the workshop. Although she has repeated the same procedure numerous times, she said the work is not boring because she could "see such various bright colors every day".

In addition to making the statues in the traditional style, the workshop also innovates and develops new sculptures such as rabbit goddesses and rabbit babies, which combine fashion with tradition.

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