Li Jian shows the details of his drawing through the magnifier in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 14, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Nearly 1,000 drawings through 43 years of service. The 60-year-old senior experimentalist managed to vividly bring over 730 kinds of cute yet wild plants and animals before the eyes of his readers.

"It is my duty to depict these cute animals from the best angles, with the most accurate details, and in the closest colors for the readers," said Li Jian, a 60-year-old senior experimentalist of the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Li has been drawing for scientific purposes since he joined the institute in 1978, during which he acquired an eagle's sight for minute details on plants and animals he was expected to depict. "My work, however, is by no means artistic creation, and being scientific and meticulous is always an overriding principle," Li said, adding, "More often than not, I resort to the microscope to be precise with all the tiny details."

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian observes his subject through the microscope in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian observes his subject through the microscope in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian observes his subject through the magnifier in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li usually has to spend 10 days on a drawing of the size of a human palm, and five days more if the subject is a scale-covered snake.

Li is about to hit his retirement in May this year. Having accomplished nearly 1,000 drawings through his 43 years of service, Li managed to vividly bring over 730 kinds of cute yet wild plants and animals before the eyes of his readers.

Li Jian sharpens a pencilin his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 14, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 14, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Photo taken on April 19, 2021 shows drawings by Li Jian, a senior experimentalist at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian shows two of his recent drawings in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Photo by Chen Juwei/Xinhua)

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 14, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian (R) learns from a senior colleague at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 14, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Photo taken on April 14, 2021 shows drawings by Li Jian, a senior experimentalist at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)

Li Jian works in his office at the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on April 13, 2021.(Xinhua/Liu Kun)