Restoration expert Zhou Xueshan from the Yangzhou Museum cleans a terracotta figurine before he begins the repair work. [Photo/Xinhua]

According to Zhou, the entire repair process for the clay figurines consists of six steps which include cleaning, splicing, filling holes, polishing, priming and coloring.

First, Zhou removes the dust and dirt from each figurine with clean water, and then inspects the entire figurine to see if there are any fractures or missing parts. Second, he then splices the separate parts and fills in the holes with mixed materials made from lime and mineral pigments.

For those parts which are badly damaged, he will make similar models to fill up and fit the figure. Once the figurine is complete, he will then polish it with emery paper. Finally, the polished figurine will be painted and restored to its original glamour.