He restarted by making chairs and tables, and constructing small houses. Qiao equipped himself with different skills to ensure he could cover the entire process of constructing a house: laying bricks, welding the steel framework, mapping the domestic electric circuit, painting the exteriors and woodwork.

After he posted online photos of small-sized houses he made, his designs attracted many who asked Qiao to make such houses as decorations for commercials and other events such as a music festival.

"He is highly focused on what he does," says Zhen Zhen, Qiao's wife, who assists him in his business and social interactions, which gives him the time to throw himself into the construction activity.

Qiao decided to turn a wasteland of some 40,000 square meters in Lijiang into a tourism venue, calling the area Land of Wilderness, where 100 tiny houses or installations of different shapes and styles are being built for adults and children to stroll about and play.

More than 20 houses and installations are already in place. When the site had a soft opening in June, groups of artists and children visited the place. Their feedback inspired Qiao to upgrade his work.

"I found that I should make facilities that can better interact with our young visitors," he says, adding that he is making a locomotive that can be used to "pull cottages".

"That will allow children to stay in the cottage and make a joyful circuit of the zone."