Love of aquariums leads to business
Law school graduate is seduced by the beauty of watery displays, and finds fulfilment as an aquascaper, sharing his work in a coffee shop
Li Lei's life took an unexpected turn after a visit to a goldfish market three years ago. A law-school graduate, Li was enjoying a decent income and bright career prospects while working as a case manager for the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Cieta) in Beijing. Then he spotted a beautifully designed aquarium, and he quickly became fascinated with freshwater "aquascaping". Li quit his job, sold his apartment and opened a small coffee shop to showcase aquariums. In 2011, he proved his skills as an underwater landscaper by winning an international award for the first aquarium he ever designed. Li, 33, recently spoke about his aquarium obsession.
In 2010, I happened to visit a goldfish market in Beijing and saw in a shop an aquarium featuring waterweeds, rocks and driftwood. I was shocked. The aquarium was about 1.2 metres long, much bigger and much more beautiful than any aquarium I had ever seen in restaurants or in people's homes. It looked so natural, bringing back my memories of the mountain village [in Shaanxi ] where I grew up. I felt it was something that I'd long been looking for. I could not get it out of my head after going home.
A month later, I bought my first set of aquascape equipment for 8,000 yuan [HK$10,000].
To create an artful and vibrant underwater world is a great pleasure to me. Of course, it can also be a time-consuming and physically demanding job. In aquascaping, waterweeds play a key role. For example, it would take two to three days to plant waterweeds one by one in an aquarium 1.2 or 1.5 metres long. As the waterweeds grow every day, you have to trim them regularly to shape them in the desired way.