A Chinese LEGO enthusiast recently unveiled his most impressive project yet – a scale model of the Forbidden City in Beijing made out of 700,000 LEGO bricks.

The 4-meter-long by 2.4-meter-wide model of the Forbidden City was created by a Guangzhou-based LEGO fan named Li Zhining, over an entire year. It features all the elements of the world-famous palace complex, including the iconic Meridian Gate, the over 70 palaces and 9,000 houses of the three main halls of the Forbidden City, the moat and all the turrets. Even more impressive is the fact that the LEGO artist didn’t use any custom made bricks, instead relying only on his huge collection of standard pieces.

Li Zhining told Chinese reporters that he fell in love with LEGO in 2008 and has been obsessed with it ever since. His impressive collection currently numbers more than 100 million individual pieces, which collectively weigh around 11 tons. He didn’t say where he stores all those bricks, but admitted that some people call him a “LEGO maniac”.

Li named his work “I am Chinese” and said that he hoped it would show the world the spirit of the Chinese people and the power of Chinese originality. Probably not the best choice of words, considering we are talking about a replica, but whatever.

“I am Chinese” is only the latest addition to this dedicated LEGO fan’s portfolio of impressive creations. In the past he reportedly built LEGO models of Notre Dame cathedral, Westminster Palace, Canton Tower and an iconic World of Warcraft setting, among others.