Interest blooms in glass flowers

Using a torch that produces arrow-like flames of more than 1,300 C and melting glass tubes to create artwork, 23-year-old He Yang wants to cultivate a flowery spectacle representing all the cities in China.

After graduating from Changsha University in June, He opened a lampwork glass store on Chaozong street in Changsha, Hunan province, with three of his classmates, all of whom majored in clothing design.

The store allows people to experience how to make beautiful objects from melting glass tubes.

To do this, the artist heats the glass and shapes it using various tools and techniques, such as blowing, sculpting, and fusing different colored glass together.

He posted videos of himself making different objects when he was still in college and his expertise attracted a large number of followers.

After he posted a video where he made a glass chrysanthemum — the city flower of Beijing — the number of his fans increased considerably.

Cumulatively, He now has more than 100,000 followers on social media, including the platforms Xiaohongshu, Bilibili and TikTok.

"It usually takes us more than one week to make a flower, and we have finished making 10 different ones, but we intend to make all 600 or so city flowers in China," he says. He promises his fans that he will make a flower that represents their city, regardless of how long it takes.