"Maohou" is not a true animal, but a puppet built with cicada shells and magnolia buds. With slender limbs and tail, "maohou" monkeys are undeniably cute.

The first was designed in the Qing Dynasty, in a Beijing herbal medicine shop. As the shopkeeper was too frugal to provide toys, his son produced a little monkey with a magnolia bud for a body, and cicada shells as limbs. Surprisingly the boss did not become angry when he saw it, but was interested, and systematized the "maohou"-making process.

One monkey is playing musical instruments while others are beating gongs and drums. Some are sawing wood, swinging axes, planning the wood, marking it with a line, while others are drawing blueprints.

This miniature masterpiecis made by Yan Minyi, a handicraftsman from Wuhan of Central China's Hubei Province.

Making maohou requires patience, skills and knowledge, says the old master. He carefully keeps track of his daily work, including times, themes, difficulties, summarizations and the next steps of the project.

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