Comments:"Chinese DIY Inventions - In Focus - The Atlantic"
URL:http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/05/chinese-diy-inventions/100511?re&utm_source=buffer&&utm_content=buffer3141e
One visible sign of China's recent economic growth is the rise in prominence of inventors and entrepreneurs. For years now, Chinese farmers, engineers, and businessmen have taken on ambitious do-it-yourself projects, constructing homemade submarines, helicopters, robots, safety equipment, weapons and much more. Some of the inventions are built out of passion, some with an eye toward profit, (some certainly safer than others), and a few have already led to sales for the inventors. Gathered here are recent photos of this DIY movement across China. [39 photos]
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Zhang Wuyi sits in his newly made multi-seater submarine at his new workshop near an artificial pool in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on November 14, 2012. Zhang, a local farmer who is interested in scientific inventions, has independently made seven miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) in 2011. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 meters (66-98 feet), and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters/Stringer)
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Zhang Wuyi sits in his newly made multi-seater submarine at his new workshop near an artificial pool in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on November 14, 2012. Zhang, a local farmer who is interested in scientific inventions, has independently made seven miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) in 2011. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 meters (66-98 feet), and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters/Stringer)
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Noah's Ark of China, a six-ton (5,443 kg) ball container built by Chinese inventor Yang Zongfu, undergoes a rolling test in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on August 6, 2012. According to local media, Yang spent two years and 1.5 million RMB ($235,585 USD) to build this four-meter diameter vessel, which is capable of housing a three-person family with sufficient food for them to live in for 10 months. The vessel was designed to protect people inside from external heat, water and external impact. (Reuters/China Daily) #
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Artist Matt Hope, wearing a helmet, pushes his air filtration bike out of his studio on a hazy day in Beijing, on March 26, 2013. Using an IKEA perforated garbage can, moped helmet, fighter-pilot breathing mask, wheel-powered generator and home air filtration system, Beijing-based artist Matt Hope built a "breathing bicycle" as a way of protecting himself from air pollution. While pedalling, electricity is generated for the power to activate the system to filter out haze and provide the rider with clean air, local media reported. (Reuters/Petar Kujundzic) #
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Li Jingchun, a 58-year-old farmer, sprays paint onto his self-made aircraft on top of his house in Xiahe village located in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on February 28, 2012. The 5m long, 1.5m wide plane, mostly made of recycled iron plates, cost the aircraft enthusiast and his family two years and more than 40,000 yuan ($6,349), according to local media. (Reuters/Sheng Li) #
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Wu Zhongyuan, 22, a local farmer, turns the wooden rotor blades of his self-made helicopter in preparation for its maiden flight, in Jiuxian county, Henan province, on August 1, 2009. The aircraft, powered by a 150cc engine, took Wu two months to build and cost more than 10,000 yuan ($1,460), China Daily reported. (Reuters/China Daily) #
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