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A scene from a miniature rammed-earth house, or gandalei, created by Wang Tao. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Wang Tao from Daqing, a city of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, recently finished landscape artwork on a miniature version of a rammed-earth house or gandalei, a type of traditional rural house locals lived in during the 20th century.
The house, built using double-boards with mud, is warm in winter and cool in summer.
The 41-year-old civil servant spent seven weeks creating the miniature, hoping to preserve the good memories of his childhood in the house, located in Hongqi village in Daqing.
"I was born in the house and spent 10 years with my family members there," he said. "When I got the idea of restoring our living scenes from the past, I received great support from them."
However, Wang has forgotten some details because of the length of time since living there, and there are only three old photos available for reference.
A scene from a miniature rammed-earth house, or gandalei, created by Wang Tao. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
"All my family members gathered several times to recall and discuss the details, including the room layout, furnishings, articles for daily use and the colors of windows, which made us feel quite excited," he said. "My mother even drew a sketch of a cabinet we used."
Moreover, Wang drove 30 kilometers to the old house that had been condemned three times to measure its size before starting work.
Wang spent about 800 yuan ($115.8) buying more than 60 types of materials and built the landscape according to a 1:35 scale.
After finishing, he sent the miniature to his parents as a gift.
"I hope it can make them feel the life we lived in the house in the past," he said.
A scene from a miniature rammed-earth house, or gandalei, created by Wang Tao. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Wang Tao works on his artwork. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
An old photo shows Wang Tao standing in front of the rammed-earth house he lived in as a child. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
