Lu Ban reborn: 76-year-old's carpentry skills go viral
A video of a 76-year-old Dong ethnic grandpa has gone viral for his mind-blowing ability to build a 1,200-square-meter, three-story twin-tower wooden house – all without a single nail or blueprint.
In the video, Shi Shanzhan, with a white beard and steady hands, marks timber with a traditional ink bucket, drawing awe from online viewers who call him "a living Lu Ban" in reference to a legendary Chinese carpenter.
Lu Ban is revered in China as a master of carpentry and masonry for his work during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BC).
Shi Shanzhan selects wood used for a new house.
Locals in his hometown in south China's Guangxi know him simply as "Uncle Beard." Though he never finished primary school, Shi has spent the past five decades building over 200 sturdy wooden homes in his hometown – each one held together entirely by mortise-and-tenon joints, an ancient carpentry technique.
But his journey started in tragedy.
Shi builds every house in the Tongle Miao Township without a single nail or blueprint.
A craft forged in fire
In 1974, fire swept through Gaobei Village, destroying hundreds of wooden homes. With only one qualified house builder in the area, reconstruction was painfully slow.
Shi, then in his early twenties, had only basic knowledge from helping craftsmen as a teenager. Driven by a desire to help rebuild the village – and find shelter for himself – he began observing construction sites by day and mentally "stacking timber" in his head by night.
"No formal training. I just watched, remembered, and figured it out," he said.
A 2023 video shows Shi at work.
Mental blueprints, physical precision
By the late 1980s, Shi felt ready to build his own house – a three-story, twin-tower wooden structure with an area of about 200 square meters. He cut, polished, and transported every log himself, then crafted the furniture inside. This masterpiece remains his proudest work.
Ever since, villagers have come to him to build their homes. Today, nearly two-thirds of the houses in Gaobei Village have been built by his hands.
He never sketches plans. Instead, he mentally constructs a 3D model of the house after hearing the owner's needs. Using only traditional tools, he marks each beam and joint precisely – ensuring a perfect fit without nails or glue.
"Everything must be thought through. All in the head," he says.
Shi makes sure this piece of wood is fit for purpose.
His buildings have withstood decades of rain, heat and time, standing tall as testaments to tradition.
An almost finished four-story twin-tower wooden house built by Shi.
A craftsman goes viral
Last year, Shi began building a new house for himself. His son livestreamed the process, drawing tens of thousands of curious viewers. Although he doesn't use a smartphone himself, Shi became an Internet sensation overnight.
Orders soon followed. A scenic area in Qingdao asked him to build a traditional-style wooden building. A Guangdong entrepreneur wanted him to design an ethnic-style guesthouse. He even caught the attention of schools, where he now occasionally shares his craft with children, Xinhua news agency reported.
Shi is now a recognized representative inheritor of Dong traditional wooden architecture – an official intangible cultural heritage of Sanjiang County.
Still, for him, true inheritance means action. "The best way to pass this down," he said, "is to keep building – until I can't anymore."
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