Luo Bin makes dough sculptures at a national traditional craftsmanship competition in Jinan, Shandong province. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Luo Bin, a master of Nantong dough sculpture, won first prize at a national traditional craftsmanship competition which took place during the sixth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo held in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, from Oct 23 to 24.

The competition was initially launched online, with 890 competitors from around the country taking part. The organizers received nearly 2,000 entries, the videos of which attracted more than 36 million views on the mobile video app Kuaishou. 

A total of 52 craftsmen entered the offline final in Jinan.

Dough sculpture, also known as mianhua (dough flower) in Chinese, is a popular folk art in China, which developed from shaping ordinary wheaten dough.

The Nantong-style dough sculpture originates from those used during sacrificial ceremonies in ancient times.

Luo inherited the technique from his grandfather and has combined it with traditional skills like clay sculpture and pottery art, making his works more vivid and lifelike.

Luo Bin shows off his dough sculptures at a national traditional craftsmanship competition in Jinan, Shandong province. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]