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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Zhang Wuyi sits in his double-seater submarine during a test operation at an artificial pool near a shipyard in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Chinese farmers are at their inventive best. Take a look at the unique home made submarines, planes made out of recycled materials, helicopters with wooden blades and rickshaws pulled by a robot, all built by Chinese farmers in their inimitable style.

Zhang, a 37-year-old local farmer, who is interested in scientific inventions, has made six miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) last October. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 metres, and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Tao Xiangli gets out of his homemade submarine after operating it in a lake on the outskirts of Beijing.

Amateur inventor Tao, 34, made a fully functional submarine, which has a periscope, depth control tanks, electric motors, manometer, and two propellers, from old oil barrels and tools which he bought at a second-hand market.

He took 2 years to invent and test the submarine which costs 30,000 yuan ($4,385).

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST

Farmer Wu Yulu drives his rickshaw pulled by a self-made walking robot near his home in a village at the outskirts of Beijing.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST

A woman rides an unicycle at a park in Shanghai. The unicycle was designed by Chinese inventor Li Yongli who called it "the number one vehicle in the world."

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Zhao Xiuguo drives a homemade model of Formula One car in Tangshan, Hebei Province, some 180km (113 miles) east of Beijing.

Zhao Xiuguo and his brother Zhao Xiushun built the car from scrap metal and said that they wanted to design and build the first Formula One racecar in China. 

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Local farmer Shu Mansheng hovers above the ground in his self-designed and homemade flying device during a test flight in front of his house in Dashu village on the outskirts of Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

The round steel flying device, which cost more than 20,000 yuan ($3,135), is the fifth model made by Shu, a junior middle school graduate.

It measures around 5.5 meters (18 feet) in diameter, and is powered by eight motorcycle engines. Shu managed to hover for 10 seconds at about 1 metre (3.3 feet) above ground during a recent test flight.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Ding Shilu, an automobile mechanic, carries out a test-flight for his self-made aircraft at a frozen reservoir in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

The aircraft which weights about 130 kg (287 lbs) and made of recycled materials including three motorbike engines and plastic cloth, cost about 2600 yuan ($395), local media reported.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Wu Zhongyuan, 22, a local farmer, turns the wooden rotor blades of his self-made helicopter in preparation for its maiden flight, in Jiuxian county, Henan province, China.

The local government later halted Wu's flight out of safety concerns. The aircraft, powered by a 150cc engine, took Wu two months to build and cost more than 10,000 yuan ($1,460), China Daily reported.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Farmer Shu Mansheng prepares to take off with his homemade ultralight aircraft in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.
The 4.5-meter-long (15ft) ultralight, powered by two motor engines, took Shu eight months to build and cost him 5,000 yuan ($733), local media reported.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Chinese farmer Yang Youde pushes his homemade cannon near his farmland on the outskirts of Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

Yang's cannon, which is made out of a wheelbarrow, pipes and firing rockets, is used to defend his fields against property developers who wants his land.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
A self-styled Chinese inventor tests his homemade helicopter next to his apartment in Beijing.

Yu Jun follows in the footsteps of his younger brother who lost his life in a national park in central China at the end of a 20 year search for the legendary "Bigfoot", and intends to continue the quest from the sky.

Without any formal education in aerospace science, Yu Jun spent five years constructing the helicopter from spare parts belonging to a dilapidated "Lada" automobile (in back).

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Zhang Yali, 49, tests a giant bicycle designed and made by him and his friends outside a rented warehouse in Jilin, Jilin province, China.

The 3.2-metre-high and 5.5-metre-long three-seated giant bicycle, weighing over one tonne, cost Zhang more over 20,000 yuan ($3,156).

Zhang spent two months making this bike as a gift for his son, a 25-year-old part-time cartoonist currently living in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Tao Xiangli stands beside his homemade submarine in a courtyard in Beijing.

The amateur inventor says his submarine is made from old oil barrels but fully functional with a periscope, depth control tanks, electric motors and two propellers.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Chinese shipbuilders stand on a submarine designed by a farmer Li Yuming (not pictured) on the Yangtse River in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province.

The submarine, 9.8 meters long, two meters wide, and four meters high, was built by some ten shipbuilders in seven months.

Maritime Administration of the Yangtse River banned the submarine's trial voyage because it did not undertake any navigational procedure.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Lei Zhiqian rides a modified bicycle across the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

The bicycle, equipped with eight empty water containers at the bottom, was modified by Lei's instructor Li Weiguo, who hopes to put his invention into the market.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST

Han Yuzi, 63, inventor, holds up one of his creations, a hair comb that doubles as a small hand-held musical instrument, in Guangzhou, the capital of China's Guangdong province.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Li Jingchun (top L), a 58-year-old farmer, works with his family members on his self-made aircraft on top of his house in Xiahe village located in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.

The 5m long, 1.5m wide plane, mostly made of recycled iron plates, cost the aircraft enthusiast and his family two years and more than 40,000 yuan ($6,349), according to local media.

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Amazing inventions from Chinese farmers!

Last updated on: May 10, 2012 12:27 IST
Gao Hanjie installs the rotor blades on his homemade helicopter in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.

The graphic designer and helicopter enthusiast, with help from his friends, has spent more than a month building the 6-meter-long and 350 kg helicopter.

Gao claims he will eventually fly the contraption as a personal project according to local media.