Shaping, drying, glazing and firing... in less than 5 minutes, a mini vase only millimeters in size starts to take shape as viewers watch on. As the founder of a miniature ceramics (微型陶瓷) studio, Wang Wenhua never expected that his works would surprise viewers in China, let alone those abroad, and that his short videos would earn over 45 million views and 4.2 million likes on a video application.

Having worked in China’s “Porcelain Capital (瓷都)” Jingdezhen in East China’s Jiangxi Province for 14 years, Wang said he had once seen the world’s biggest ceramic here but he had never seen the smallest, so he decided one day to try something different — making micro porcelain.

Things were not easy in the beginning, and many people doubted him. “They called me crazy and mocked me when I went to factories and asked them to help make miniature tools for me to create micro pottery. Even my wife did not support me,” Wang said.

However, Wang did not give up and after about half a year of experimentation, Wang finally made miniature tools on his own and was able to complete his first miniature porcelain — a vase.

According to Wang, the key to making a miniature ceramic work is concentration and a pair of steady hands. After numerous attempts, Wang found that the smallest works he could get were about 2 millimeters in size. “It would probably miss my original intention if I made micro pottery using a microscope, so I have focused more attention on making the smaller pieces more beautiful and complex,” said Wang.

The smallest vase that Wang has made is a bowl only 2 millimeters tall, 3 millimeters wide and 1 millimeter thick. Wang says he plans to apply for the Guinness World Records for the world’s smallest pottery work.

A 47 year-old woman who went missing almost half a year ago in a valley in Utah was recently found living in a small tent, surviving mostly on a diet of grass.

The woman was declared missing last November after her car and camping equipment were found in a parking lot near Spanish Fork valley. Police searched the area, but could not locate her, and the attempts to get in touch with her relatives proved unsuccessful. Still, rescue teams continued to search the area both on foot and from the air.

Technically, a search party located the woman by mistake. A volunteer group had brought in a drone (无人机) to help with the operation, but when it crashed in the valley, the pilot and a police officer went out to find it. That’s how they came upon a tent that appeared abandoned but actually proved to be the missing woman’s home.

The unnamed woman lost a significant amount of weight and was obviously weak. She told her rescuers that she had lived in the tent since her disappearance, bearing the winter temperatures and surviving mainly on grass and fresh water from a nearby river.

Police brought the woman back to civilization and took her to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. However, they made sure to clarify that what she did was not illegal.

“We want to be clear that while many people might choose to not live in the conditions as this woman did, she did nothing against the law,” the police officer said.

Police added that the woman might choose to return to the same area, and there was nothing they could do to stop her. Just in case that happens, they’ll provide her with some extra food to make sure she doesn’t have to survive on grass.

“Ni Hao! Lao Tie! I am your foreign friend. Just have a bite of our organic apples and place your orders here!” Erik Nilsson, a Swedish traveler, greeted through Tik Tok livestreams in a village of Jiangxi Province. His appearance online increased that day’s sale greatly. After experiencing a special day in the rural area, Erik said jokingly, “I wish I could change my job.”

This village is not alone. Nowadays, China’s e-commerce platforms have helped open up the market for Chinese farmers’ produce, bringing an increasing number of sales online. This new trend has made livestreaming a new way to rid farmers of poverty, with mobile phones becoming “new farm tools”.

“Everyone has brought their own agricultural products. How can you make the audiences believe that they’re delicious through the screen in front of you? Now, let’s feel the look on your face during the livestreaming!” A farmers’ education and training center in Hainan Province invites professionals such as directors and stylists to teach farmers a variety of skills ranging from short video editing to livestreaming sales skills. “However, at first, only a few villagers had a strong desire. We helped them get training in livestreaming, short video marketing, and other courses. It wasn’t fancy, but simple, practical, and effective.”

“Everybody, please take a look. This is the best coconut. Taste it,” said Pei Yanqin, 59, speaking Mandarin with a strong local accent and communicating smoothly with netizens through her livestreaming software. Just over a year ago, she was one of those villagers with the least intention to get training.

In 2018, the demonstration project of national e-commerce for rural areas was launched. Today, the village has developed eight e-commerce livestreaming courtyards. Some presenters work alone, while others are husband and wife teams. In the next step, the government will train more farmer presenters and develop in the direction of multi-variety sales.