中国农民打造“变形金刚”队伍

The buzz surrounding the Hollywood hit "Transformers: Age of Extinction" in China has inspired a group of villagers to give up their day-jobs to create robots.

CRI's Li Dong has more.

Reporter: In Xiaoye Village, a small town in east China's Shandong province, Wang Shizun stands on a ladder to put the finishing touches on a sculpture. It's one of his team's latest creations.

But this isn't a classical figure study or even a piece of abstract art - it's a three-meter tall futuristic robot inspired by movies such as Transformers.

Wang guides a paint sprayer around the robot's chest, adding bursts of color to the metal form. It's the last stage in a process that begins with a careful plotting of the robot's features.

"Once we have the structure, all the parts are welded and assembled by piece according to the blueprint. Later, we will clean up the sculptures so that they are ready for painting. The paint colors are selected and mixed by ourselves and are rust-proof."

Movies like the "Transformers" series have been huge hits in China. The latest movie in the series, Transformers: Age of Extinction, opened in China to a record box-office weekend haul of over 600 million yuan, that's almost $97 million USD.

As a result, the workers' robot sculptures are in hot demand across China. This 16-meter tall creation stands outside the Dreamport Mall in suburban Beijing.

People stop to stare and take photos of the huge figure. Children and teenagers pose in front of it for photos that they will post for their friends to see on Chinese social media websites.

Yin Xuecheng is one of those stopping to check out the enormous robot.

"I've never seen models like these before. I've seen a few smaller sculptures but I've never seen something as tall as these. This is the very first time for me to see such big ones. I like them very much and took a picture for my girlfriend with these models just now," says Yin.

The biggest robots can cost as much as 100,000 yuan or $ 16,000 USD and take a month or more to make, but the team has no shortage of clients. They've already sold more than 100 of the sculptures.

Most buyers are commercial firms or property developers. They like to put the robots in public areas or new developments, like the mall in Beijing. It's a way to attract interest and attention.

This group of robots is ready to go to a buyer in Shanghai. It's a 15 hour drive from the village. Once they arrive, they will join the team's collection of the robots that have found new homes all across China.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.