The ingenuity of the Chinese in do-it-yourself projects can be quite fascinating. The do-it-yourself projects invite speculations as to what their purpose is, including the possibility of using them for future militia-like endeavors.

Here are some of the most peculiar and clever inventions that photographers have captured in China:

Gao Hanjie, a graphic designer in Shenyang, Liaoning province, has realized he could work on a homemade helicopter, so he decided he would do exactly that. Two years ago, he has completed his mission, but he has yet to find an ideal open space location to test his customized aircraft. With help from his friends, Hanjie has spent over a month to build the 6-meter-long and 350kg helicopter.

Yang Youde, a farmer in Wuhan, has built his very own homemade cannon near his farmland in June 2010. Yang worked on a wheelbarrow, some pipes and firing rockets to build his cannon. He is expected to use the cannon to protect his farmland against property developers who wants to claim his land in Hubei province.

Ding Shilu, an automobile mechanic in Shenyang, Liaoning province, has built his personal aircraft and had it tested at a frozen reservoir in Shenyang in 2011. The aircraft was made out of recycled materials including three motorbike engines and plastic cloth. It costs about 2600 yuan ($395).

Li Jingchun, a 58-year-old farmer, has also made his self-made aircraft in Shenyang, Liaoning province. His 5m long, 1.5m wide plane was made out of recycled iron plates. He and his family spent two years and more than 40,000 yuan ($6,349) in completing their DIY aircraft project.

Zhang Wuyi, a 37-year-old local farmer at Wuhan, Hubei province, has worked on a personalized double-seater submarine, and he has run a test operation just this Monday at an artificial pool near a shipyard in Wuhan.

Zhang has worked with several fellow engineers and they have built six miniature submarines, one of which was bought by a businessman in Dalian for 100,000 yuan ($15,855) late last year.

Zhang's submarines are reportedly mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber. His watercrafts can go 20-30 metres deep and travel for 10 hours.

Wu Yulu, a 48-year-old farmer from a village at the outskirts of Beijing, is a hobbyist when it comes to inventions. He has worked on a walking robot that assists him in his He started to build robots in 1986, and has invented 47 robots with different functions like jump, paint, drink, pull cart, massage, and 'help cooking.'

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China