A man who had poliomyelitis when he was young has since carved out a new life for himself using wood and his two skillful hands in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

Xu Huidong started to learn the art of wood carving at the age of 19 and then worked in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, for more than a decade.

At the very beginning he only carved the surfaces of furniture, but later turned his focus to creating his own wood carvings from scratch.

Xu returned to his hometown at Xiaya village in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, and opened his own studio in 2006.

He has helped many young people to start their own business and also won many awards himself. Xu would like to inspire more people to pursue their dreams, he said.