A hair stylist in northeastern China has found a novel way of using all that hair-by making art.

Wang Xiaojiu started working as a barber 16 years ago, but he didn't hit upon his idea until late last year when he decided to write out 2015 and his nickname, "Xiaojiu" (Little Nine), with hair from the floor of his shop.

Photographs of the artwork he uploaded to WeChat, the social media app, received such a warm response from his friends that he made another picture of a monkey to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year.