The city is renowned as the centre for inside painting, mainly of small snuff bottles.

The snuff bottle is comparable to the snuff box used by Europeans.

The highest status went to whoever had the rarest and finest snuff bottle.

Original snuff bottles from the Qing period are a desirable target for serious collectors and museums.

The size of a snuff bottle is small enough to fit inside the palm.

The hare is also often found on snuff bottles.

Like other types of snuff bottle, the range of subject matter used on inside painted bottles is without limit.

"I sold two objects to museums and about 20 snuff bottles, far more than I expected," he said.

An American collector paid $665,600 for it, a world auction record for a snuff bottle.

Because the money poured into the industry by the rich, the design of snuff bottles flourished.