In 2019, Zhao ended up getting the same three "white bone demon" doll figures from "the Molly Journey to the West "series in blind boxes he acquired.

"Talking about the chances," Zhao recalls, "it felt hard to keep them and worse to discard them."

With an academic background in industrial design from Jiangnan University in Jiangsu province, Zhao decided to give them each a new, unique look.

He drew inspiration from Japanese animations he watched and applied new elements that gave the figures a new lease of life.

He created a transparent fish model based on the Chinese animation, Big Fish & Begonia, to present its dreamlike quality. Transparent crystal connection poles were also applied to render a butterfly model as if in mid-flight.

With his ingenious maneuvers, Zhao has not only made stunning changes to the toys, but also created novel concepts or storylines for them.

"It has since become a way for me to express myself," Zhao says.