Artist shapes ceramic celebration of One World, One Dream

Born in 1955, Xing is an almighty presence in China's ceramics. Schooled for only five years, he never learned ceramic techniques formally but his innovation has brought him 20 patents from the State Intellectual Property Office. Now, his works are in some of the world's most famous museums, including the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

He was born into a peasant family in Shandong province and brought up in Dalian. Before he became fascinated by pottery at the age of 24, he had made a living as carpenter, locksmith, electrician, boilermaker, cleaning worker and dustman.

"The great pleasure of life lies not in possessing but in creating," he says. "No matter how good someone else's collection is, it is always someone else's. I get to work on my own creation and create something unique."

He first built a kiln, using the skills he had acquired when he was a boilermaker. Then he worked out a technique to control the temperature of the kiln and in doing so, succeeded in manipulating the once "uncontrollable" kiln transmutation.