Quirky and cute Qingtian miniature jade carvings featuring kittens are a hit with young customers. [Photo/Tide News]

Qingtian stone carving, a traditional Chinese handicraft, has been transformed into a modern cultural and creative industry in Shankou town – located in Qingtian county, Lishui city, in East China's Zhejiang province.

By integrating trendy designs and assembly line production, many individual businesses in town have developed a raft of stone carving products that combine traditional culture with a new fashionable look – attracting a large number of delighted young buyers.

Lin Wenbo, a stone carving designer, said his studio produces stone carvings modeled on Chinese zodiac animals, but also jade carvings featuring cute pets such as snails and kittens.

Elsewhere, in Qingtian Stone Carving Cultural and Creative City, advanced carving machines and intelligent equipment have been introduced to produce high-quality products in large quantities.

The town has also established an e-commerce live streaming base for stone carvings, which includes an online auction and a presence on Douyin – the Chinese version of the short video platform TikTok.

To date, these initiatives have helped more than 700 villagers find employment and generated annual sales of over 400 million yuan ($55.46 million).