BEIJING, Sept. 20 -- Toothpicks may only be convenient pieces of wood in most people's eyes, but in Zheng Changlun's opinion, they have another usage---making mosaics.

The craftsman from Shangrao, east China's Jiangxi province, is now working on a painstaking mosaic that is 1.2 meters high and 0.6 meters wide.

A local newspaper reported on Wednesday that he is planning to incorporate 130,000 toothpicks in making a figure painting of Kwan-Yin, or Avalokiteshvara, the Goddess of Mercy from Chinese folklore.

Zheng, 49, drew his inspiration from a TV program which showed an Albanian artist sticking together 1.5 million toothpicks in making a mosaic of a galloping horse. The artist was included into the Guinness Book of World Records for his work.

Zheng also plans to challenge the artist's work with his own after he finishes the current work of Kwan-Yin, the report said.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)