Ludao Club, located in the Creative Blocks in Tianjin, is a place to change waste into treasure, in which people can realize their dreams of being a craftsman and spread an idea of environmental protection. The club is trying to integrate traditional handcrafts with modern business.

People can make waste materials and scrap metal into handicrafts through special design, welding, and advanced manufacturing tools available to them in the club.

Lu Peng, founder of Ludao Club, said he intended to build the club into a platform which integrates the handicrafts experience, communication and exchange, and craftsmen training.

Ludao Club is located at the Creative Blocks in Tianjin. [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

Lu Peng's father was a mechanic, which influenced Lu when he was young.

"I was fond of disassembling complicated gadgets and dreamed that I could create a robot by myself," he said.

After graduating from Tianjin University, Lu spent ten years working as a middle-level manager at a state-owned enterprise until the release of the film Transformers.

"I was determined to make my own 'transformer' after watching the movie," Lu said. "I still had not opened this workshop and I just made all the designs outdoors. I even fell down from the scaffold once."

Lu Peng and his friends finished their first robot after more than five months of hard work.

"It was really very tiring but because that is what we love, we felt happy about it."

Ludao Club offers people an opportunity to make their own handicrafts. [Photo/Xinhua]

His team received an invitation to an auto show after the robot was completed and cooperation with other firms had increased.

After that first project, Lu started the club. It would be open to anyone to try crafting themselves, regardless of their skill. To date, there are 20 full-time colleagues on his team and they share a common dream — becoming craftsmen.

"Many people have the aspiration to become a craftsman but do not have the chance to work with other fellows. This friendship is priceless."

A team member in Ludao Club said the club offers her a quiet environment to practice her handicraft skills. Many excellent craftsmen gather here and it is a sort of heaven for amateurs.

Lu Peng stressed that he wishes to inspire more people to chase their dream.