Dream weavers' misty mountain retreat

In Zhouguan village, Guizhou province, a young man from Beijing chipped away at a block of wood using a technique passed down through generations. Several days later, he had completed an unusual creation: a mask depicting Ganon, the final boss of the video game The Legend of Zelda, in the character's dragon form.

For Hu Yongwu, a mask carver in his 50s, showing visitors how to create images of video game characters from wood is nothing new.

"I have three more Zelda masks here. Want to take a look?" he said matter-of-factly.

An increasing number of young people are making their way to the village in Anshun, known for its wood carving, where they spend carefree days among piles of shavings and the thunk of chisels.

One visitor, Shi Jiayi, spent four days at Yalan workshop in the village, becoming so relaxed she got to know the neighborhood cats and dogs.

The 25-year-old, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, worked in livestream e-commerce before quitting her job and traveling alone to Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

She chose to carve a mythical bird called boqi, which, according to legend, devours nightmares and unpleasant memories. "I don't sleep very well," she said with a laugh, pressing her chisel into the wood.

For a fee of around 400 yuan ($60), she spent four days making the mask under the guidance of a master craftsman.

First, she carved the bird's basic outline, then worked with her mentor to refine the details. The wood was then heated over a fire to draw out the remaining moisture before the mask was painted. With her brushes, she carefully added emerald and other shades of green to the bird's feathers.

Life in the village is a far cry from city life, she said. "The good thing about staying here is that as soon as you open your eyes, you're carving wood," she said.

In her livestream sales job, she had to keep up with a relentless work pace and a constant stream of information. During her time in the village, her daily routine was much simpler: pick up a chisel, study the grain of the wood and gradually refine the piece in front of her.

Spending long stretches focused on a single object gave her a sense of immersion that she had not experienced in a long time.

After finishing her work, she posted a photo on her WeChat Moments feed, accompanied by a single line: "I've raised a mythical beast that eats nightmares."