Qian and his son Qian Youjie work on a large piece of "chicken-blood" stone. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chicken-blood stone is one of the most prized ornamental materials in China and has been used for centuries to create carved works with characteristic red markings.

Stone for the carvings is found in the riverhead area of the West Zhejiang Grand Canyon in Lin'an. Geologists discovered that the quarry in the mountain was created by volcanic activity 75 million years ago.

Changhua stone comes in many distinctive colors, including red, yellow, brown, white, sky blue, and green, among others. Ironically, the color of red chicken-blood is rare, thus very precious. With its vibrant blood-red color, bright crystal-like jade texture, quality and shape, chicken-blood stones are renowned the world over.

In 2008, the Changhua chicken-blood stone carving was added to the national intangible cultural heritage list, and it was also included in the first batch of national catalogs for the promotion of traditional craftsmanship. This was jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2018.