The sweet magic of Harbin's sugar figurines

Showing both interest and talent, Wang was able to make easy shapes, like a gourd, with sugar syrup by the time she was 6.

After graduating from senior high school in 2008, her family moved to Harbin, the provincial capital, in search of a better life. "My father hoped I'd find get a stable job, and I tried several in Harbin, including as an assistant at a clothing shop and a mobile phone shop," she said. "However, I still dreamed of becoming a figurine maker to create magic like my father."

Upon her insistence, he finally agreed to take her on as his student. She spent three years mastering the skills and then traveled to different provinces, including Guangdong, Yunnan, Sichuan and Fujian, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to earn a living by making sugar figures.