Rural tinkerer dives in with both feet

In the village where he was born, a Chinese chicken breeder emerged from a lake of green to tell of his life beneath the waves in a homemade orange submarine.

TanYongboltedtogetherhis2-metric-toncraft-christenedthe"HappyLamb",afterapopularcartooncharacter-injustninemonthsandhassteeredittodepthsof8meters.

The44-year-oldisoneofthegrowingranksofruralChinesedo-it-yourselfinventorswhoseindividualismcontrastswiththecollectivefarmingofpastdecades.

Inhiselectricvessel,gaugesandairpressuredialswerescrewedtothecabinwallaboveplasticpipingthatwouldlookappropriatebeneathakitchensink,whilehandwrittenoperatinginstructionswerepostedusingstickytape.Electriccablesspewedfromanarrayoffuseboxes,andagascanisterwaspositionedonthefloor.

"Thisistheairpump,it'susedforgoingupanddown,"Tanexplained,addingnonchalantly:"Ihaven'tinstalledanykindofescapedevice."

TanwasbornjusttwoyearsaftertheBeatlesreleasedtheir1968hitYellowSubmarine,buthegrewupinruralpovertyandsayshedoesnotknowanysongsaboutcoloredunderwatervessels.

Atthenationallevel,Chinahasincreasingnavalambitions,andTan,whomakeshislivingsellingchickens,firsthatchedtheideaofbuildingasubmarinetwoyearsago,launchingaprototypeinMarch.

"Ineverstudiedthisinschool.I'vebasedeverythingonmyimagination,"hesaid."Icanstayunderwaterfor45minutes."

Hescrapedanextralayerofsealantaroundtheportholesbeforewavingcheerilyasheclosedthehatch,emblazonedwithared,Communist-stylestar.

Thecraft-poweredbyfivecarbatteries-chuggedawayfromthebanksoftheDanjiangkouReservoir,withafriendaboardandmanymoreofthemcheeringastheylookedonfrombeneathagroveoforangetrees.

Theenginewhirredandbubblesrippledthelake'sstillsurfaceasthesubmarinegentlydescended,leavingabarelyvisibleoutlinebeforedisappearingentirely.

Launchinghimselfintothelifeaquatic,Tanisoneofanumberofamateurinventors-dubbed"PeasantDaVincis"-whohaveinrecentyearsputtogetherhomemadeplanes,helicoptersandeventanks,apparentlywithlittleconsiderationofpracticalvalue.

'Crushedlikeplastic'

Tan'sunderwaterjourneyshavenotalwaysbeensmooth,andhetoldearlierofascarymoment8metersdown.

"There'salotofwaterpressureonthesteelpanels-theywerecrushedlikeaplasticbottle,"hesaid."Iwasverynervous.Andthentherewasalargebangingsound."

Minutesafterdiving,thesubmarine'sredstarbrokesurfaceagain,andTanre-emerged."Noproblem!"hesaidwithagrin.

Tanclaimsmaterialsforthesubmarinecosthimjust30,000yuan($4,900),thoughheadmitsthetimespentonitsconstructionputstrainsonhismarriage.

"IfImakeanothersubmarine,Iwillgetdownto30or50meterswithoutanyproblems.I'lljustmakethesteelabitthicker,"hesaid.

Buthis8-year-oldson,TanJunfeng,addedanoteofskepticism."Ourfamilydoesn'thavemuchmoney,andDad'sspentitall,"hesaid."SoIdon'tthinkhe'llbemakinganotherone."