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Zoey Zhang

A handicraft influencer from central China has spent four months building a mini underground station for his cats.
Some netizens suspected the feline railway station was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), but its maker, Xing Zhilei, posted clips showing that every detail was handmade.
A DIY creator from Henan province, Xing has more than 1.2 million followers on mainland social media platforms.
His handmade work includes mini houses, banks and garages for pets.

Xing lives with his wife, their son, a Shiba Inu dog and two cats named “Not Bad” and “Pretty Good”.
On August 16, Xing revealed a fan-inspired underground station he had built for his cats and drew widespread attention.
The tiny station looks astonishingly real, complete with a scaled-down platform, safety doors and even functioning escalators.
A miniature train runs along the track, pulling up neatly at the platform as the cats step on and off.

Inside, the carriages are bright and roomy for whiskered passengers, fitted with little seats to lean against and tiny handrails.
While waiting, the cats can glance across the track at advertising boards.
Even the station names are whimsical. The one Xing revealed is called Cat Town, while others along the line include Catnip Hill and Moonwatcher Terrace.
Xing said that within just a few days of posting the video, the number of views had already soared past 100 million.

One social media user said: “It is unbelievable. The intricate details in the station are simply astonishing.”
“I was convinced it was AI-generated until I saw Xing and his cats together inside the carriage,” wrote another.
In the video, Xing revealed how the station was built inside a vast, empty factory.
His team ran into countless hurdles, from synchronising the train and platform doors to getting the escalators to run smoothly.
“Whenever a problem came up, we just fixed it. My resolve never wavered, and after many failures the station finally came together,” said Xing.
Even after completion, filming and keeping the place tidy proved tricky.
Xing and his team kept bumping their heads on the tiny structures, so they left the cleaning to robotic vacuums and a mini helper bot.
Xing first went viral in 2023 for crafting a luxury flat for his cats, complete with a handmade miniature lift.
Built inside his wife’s pet shop, the cat flat featured three bedrooms, two sitting rooms and two bathrooms.
The taps produced real running water, the kitchen stove worked, and the bedroom even had a flat-screen TV.
With his cat Pretty Good expecting seven kittens at the time, Xing even set aside rooms for the new arrivals.

He later expanded the project into an entire Cat Town that included a cinema, supermarket, billiards hall and foot spa centre, each created as a perfectly scaled-down working replica.
In his previous videos, Xing has explained that he taught himself every skill, from 3D modelling and printing to carpentry and welding.
He said he had loved making things since childhood, and the work still gives him both a sense of achievement and a spark of childhood joy.
One online observer said: “Xing has built a real-life Zootopia. I cannot wait to see what he makes next!”
While another quipped: “China’s public facilities for cats were now world-leading.”


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‘Not AI’: China influencer takes 4 months to build mini cat underground; video gets 100 million views

A Chinese influencer has spent four months building an underground station for his cats and his video of it has received more than 100 million views online. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

Xing Zhilei relaxes inside a train carriage he made as part of the cat station project. Photo: Facebook

Self-taught Xing is hard at work on his computer. The influencer had to learn many skills to make his mini creations. Photo: Facebook

Mind the doors: Attention to detail means everything when making miniature replicas. Photo: Facebook

Social media platform: Xing is sitting pretty after his mini station video got more than 100 million views online. Photo: Facebook

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People & Culture

Miniature underground railway station built by hand stuns social media, follows creation of replica luxury flat for felines


Miniature underground railway station built by hand stuns social media, follows creation of replica luxury flat for felines.


Pets

Social media

‘Not AI’: China influencer takes 4 months to build mini cat underground; video gets 100 million views

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Miniature underground railway station built by hand stuns social media, follows creation of replica luxury flat for felines

Miniature underground railway station built by hand stuns social media, follows creation of replica luxury flat for felines