Jinan craftsmen reproduced the "Watergate Bridge" in 16 days to make a miniature sculpture that was reduced by 72 times

Group photo of Li Yizhong and his works By Guo Mengtong, a client reporter of Jinan Times and new Yellow River

The hit movie "Chosin Lake's Water Gate Bridge" ignited the patriotic enthusiasm of countless audiences. After watching the movie, Jinan miniature craftsman Li Yizhong reproduced the grand scene of the Shuimen Bridge battlefield. It is understood that this work is 1.8 meters long, 1 meter wide and about 80 centimeters high, and was made by 5 people in 16 days. Li Yizhong said that this is the largest miniature scene he has ever done, in which the details of the broken bridge and explosion are mostly time-consuming, need to be colored by hand, and the members often work overtime until midnight. After many years in the industry, Li Yizhong has produced many works that embody the red spirit, and from the perspective of a craftsman, he hopes that through his works, the red spirit can be passed on from generation to generation and inspire more young people.

Jinan miniature craftsmen reproduce the Watergate Bridge

On the morning of the 10th, the reporter came to Li Yizhong's studio, and the miniature scene of the Watergate Bridge that had just been made was placed in the most conspicuous place of the studio. The entire work is 1.8 meters long, 1 meter wide and 80 centimeters high. The overall ratio is 1:72. It looks grand in scale, and there are many details in addition to the Watergate Bridge.

The huge mountain, the hydropower station that extends down from the Watergate Bridge and the bridge body of the Watergate Bridge constitute the most magnificent picture in the scene. Some of the miniature figures and the weeds on the mountain are lifelike, small and delicate.

"The whole mountain is made of foam board, in addition to the general carving treatment, some of the old war traces need to be manually made", the author Li Yizhong told reporters, the production process has many "bright spots", such as dozens of soldiers are 3D printed, water conservancy pipes are made of water pipe materials, and the weeds of the entire mountain are separated from the dry reeds by the makers to create a detail.

Li Yizhong said that the most difficult to make is the broken part of the Watergate Bridge. "The broken bridge body is not flat, there are some messy distribution of wires, the process is not simple, it takes a few days to make a section", only such a part, it took about 8 days to complete.

I was shocked by the film and spent 16 days making it

"I made this work to make people remember this history and pay tribute to our old heroes", before the release of the Chosin Lake film, Li Yizhong's team had such an idea, after watching the film, he was deeply moved and decided to realize the idea and reproduce the scene in the movie.

Since there was not much information to draw on, he found only a blurry photograph, which was printed out as a reference. After watching the movie, many of the details were overturned and remade.

In Li Yizhong's studio, there are several young apprentices, and they are also involved in the creative process. The reporter saw in the studio that there are many tools for the production of miniature scenes, and there are more than 100 kinds of raw materials, including dyes, clay, foam boards, and various knife tools, as many as 30 kinds.

"Because the production is complicated, staying up late is commonplace," Li Yizhong said, in order to complete the work faster, the team members have to work overtime almost every night until about eleven o'clock, and the production of some small materials is time-consuming and laborious, such as the military tent made of toilet paper, and the barbed wire simulated by mosquito nets.

It is hoped that the work will pass on the red spirit from generation to generation

All along, Li Yizhong has focused on the scene of the miniature rural hometown, and his studio displays miniature old houses in different regions and different eras, with a strong sense of substitution. Lu Southwest Old House, Shaanxi Cave Kiln, Fujian Tulou, Hui-style People's Home, Northeast Tu kang... Each piece is a strong sense of nostalgia.

Miniature scenes of the Red Spirit have run throughout his career. "Before in Linyi, I did a miniature of the theme of military and civilian fish and water conditions, and also made patriotic scene sculptures for the troops"... There are many similar red works.

"Some of the previous works were exhibited and attracted many young people to watch, in fact, this is also our original intention," Li Yizhong said, hoping that more people will remember the spirit of revolutionary martyrs on the battlefield, remember history through their works, and never forget their original intentions.