Du didn't give up. He started to reassemble the UFO; the more time he spent on it, the more material and money he required. According to his partner Hu Bo, Du emptied his bank account for the project and couldn't even afford his child's school tuition.

At this time, Du was invited to join the Fifth China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition held in south China's Zhuhai City. With his partners, Du made a small model of the UFO and sent it to the exhibition.

"We've made three UFOs so far, but we won't make another trial flight unless we are very sure that we will succeed," says Du.

Dreaming of the sky

Du is not alone in his dream to take to the skies.

Wu Shuzai, an inventor from a small village in Jiangxi Province, also wishes to fly, albeit in a helicopter of his own design.

Wu first got his idea after watching a TV program about helicopters. Before that, Wu just worked on his farm, like the other residents of his village.

Jiangxi peasant Wu Shuzai took four years to build his second wooden helicopter.

"I think flying a helicopter might be a very good way to see the outside world," says Wu.

Having never built anything like this before, Wu used all the materials he could get his hands on, including an engine from a rice mill, to build his helicopter. However, he never managed to get it to fly.

Compared to Wu, Wang Qiang was much luckier, as his aircraft eventually took to the skies, rising to a height of 3,500 feet.