To have hosted a G20 summit is something only a handful city in the world can lay claim to. With the summit not to return to China for another 19 years, it has almost a once-in-a-generation feel to it. Hangzhou’s local artists are milking this opportunity while they can.

CCTV’s Wu Guoxiu visited one of these opportunists in their shop.

In China, the art of making clay figurines is an intangible cultural heritage, dating back thousands of years. The clay folk artist Wu Xiaoli thinks the G20 is the perfect chance to promote it.

“We began to make these figurines last year when we got news that Hangzhou would host the G20 summit. We found their pictures online, and observed very carefully their facial features. Such as President Xi has a little baby fat on his face making him look very kind, and Putin has a high nose and high cheeks,” Wu said.

The full set of figurines took artists three months to make. But, despite of their hard work, Wu would like people to understand that art is accessible to all, no matter adults or children.

Through these G20 inspired clay figurines, Wu wants to show how simple and practical the art is, and hopes to bring her more business.

It wasn’t long at all before the G20 figurines were snapped up by excited customers. Once word got out over various media channels, her footfall increased several times over

“We’ve been learning the craft here for two months. We knew about Ms. Wu from television. We want to open a shop like hers,” clay figurine student Tang Xiaofen said.

This is probably how Hangzhou can really benefit from hosting the G20 summit, as a future holiday destination.