Desk Report,
A man from old iron and wood has built strange cars in the mountainous regions of China
Birds may be singing in the nearby forest, a mountain stream is flowing in a gentle stream nearby. This has been the way of life in a mountain village in China’s Yunnan province for hundreds of years. But in recent years, the sound of iron and wood has disrupted this rhythm of nature. Now the village’s new identity has spread throughout China.
A man from old iron and wood has built strange cars in the mountainous regions of China
For seven years, a man in the village has been building amazing cars by combining old iron, discarded motorcycle engines, and the broken structures of buildings under construction. Some of these cars are suitable for driving on high and low mountain roads. Some are amphibious—can drive equally well on water and land. Some can be used to go to the office, as well as catch fish.
The leader of these activities is a 42-year-old Chinese man. His name is Gu Yupeng, who is known online as ‘Strong Pig’. After a video of his car went viral on social media, many are calling him a ‘mountain inventor’. One commented, ‘China has no shortage of talent. You just need to find out.’

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In the mountainous region of China, strange cars are being made from old iron and wood
Prothom Alo Desk
Published: 04 July 2025, 19:00
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Gu Yupeng is lying in an amphibian car he made himselfPhoto: From a video by the X account Silk, Tea & Terracotta
Birds may be singing in the nearby forest, a mountain stream is flowing in a weak stream nearby. This has been the way of life in a mountain village in China’s Yunnan province for centuries. But for a few years, the sound of iron and wood has disrupted this rhythm of nature. Now the village’s new identity has spread throughout China.
For seven years, a man in the village has been building amazing cars from old iron, discarded motorcycle engines, and the broken structures of buildings under construction. Some of these cars are suitable for driving up and down mountain roads. Some are amphibious – they can drive on both land and water. Some can be used to go to the office as well as catch fish.
The leader of these activities is a 42-year-old Chinese man. His name is Gu Yupeng, who is known online as ‘Strong Pig’. After a video of his car went viral on social media, many are calling him a ‘mountain inventor’. One commented, ‘There is no shortage of talent in China. You just need to find out.’

Gu Yupeng tests out a new carPhoto: From a video by the X account Silk, Tea & Terracotta
A story of rising from the roots to the top
Gu Yupeng, a young man from Heilongjiang in northeastern China, used to work in an auto parts factory. After working for ten years, he was bored with the monotonous production system of the factory. He wanted to do something independently. He took a big risk without thinking.
Yupeng failed with two small business ventures. Then in 2018, he moved to Yunnan in southwestern China with only 30,000 yuan (about 4,200 US dollars). He set up his own workshop in a mountain village about 100 kilometers from the city of Kunming. The area is not only quiet with steep slopes, but also prone to landslides during the rainy season.
However, members of the Hani and Nasa ethnic groups in this region have maintained water diversity for hundreds of years through ‘terrace farming’, a system of rice fields built in steps like stairs.
