For hundreds of years, the giant rock formations of Jianmin village in Pingtan, Fujian province have instilled wonder and amazement on all who looked upon them, due to their unique animal-like shapes including dogs, tortoises, magpies and rabbits.

In the past some villagers feared the rocks, choosing to build shrines and temples near them in order to ward away any bad spirits and worship gods and ancestors.

Due to economic development and a boom in population, many rocks were destroyed to be made into construction materials.

Liu Ziqiong, an elderly resident of Jianmin village said there used to be a rock shaped as the nearby Kylin Mountain, but it has since been destroyed.

"In the early 90s, Liu Jiajing, then Party chief of Pingtan government once paid a visit to the village and told the villagers not to destroy the Kylin rock," Liu said. "Sadly that didn't prevent it from being used as construction materials several years later."

The more encouraging news is that locals now realize that preserving these unique rocks is not only a blessing for the natural landscape, but good for tourism too.

As a result, a non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving the existing rocks has been established in Pingtan.

A series of activities, such as photo exhibitions and short story competitions are hosted regularly, appealing to villagers to preserve the rocks.

With the joint efforts of the government and local residents, it is hoped the unique rocks of Jianmin will attract visitors to admire the beauty of the natural world in its rawest and rockiest form.

The rock in shape of a magpie in Jianmin village in Pingtan [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]