China has a long tradition of outstanding wood carving, a theme that continues on a large scale today. Chinese artist Zheng Chunhui recently unveiled a wood carving to top them all – literally – having just been named “the longest continuous wooden sculpture” by the Guinness Book of World Records on November 14th. Just how big is this behemoth piece? It measures in at some 40 feet in length (12.286 meters) and took Chunhui four years to complete starting from a whole tree. That’s a lotof chiseling.

The theme for the piece was inspired by a famous painting called “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” which is a historical holiday occurring on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox). Its name refers to a time for people to go outside and enjoy the new growth of springtime and tend to the graves of departed ones. You can see more pictures of the carving at China News.