Zhang Xingfu says he got his carving knives 59 years ago, and for them to be effective all he needs to do is sharpen them from time to time. [Photo by Liu Xiaoli/China Daily]

Zhang Xingfu, 72, usually starts his day by carving a coconut shell at 8 am, sitting near the window with knife and shell in hands, something he has been doing for the past 50 years.

In fact, Zhang, a master of coconut carving in Haikou, Hainan province, could sit in his chair without leaving it until midnoon, so absorbed is he with the matter at hand.

Zhang, who was interested in drawing as a youngster, started to learn coconut carving when he was 13. He was paid just 15 yuan a month, he says, but he was happy.

"I didn't care about the pay. I was just happy that I was learning something that was related to drawing."

He had to learn how to peel and polish coconuts and how to draw before he finally got into the process of carving, and it was three years before he could turn out his first work.