It's widely recognized that American inventors such as Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford helped turn the American dream into a reality.
Nowadays many inventors are coming from a different economic juggernaut — China. According to China Daily, 210,000 invention patents were given out in the country last year, a 25% increase over 2011.
In this slideshow we've included pictures from China's DIY inventors: industrious men and women inventing in their backyard.
Zhang Wuyi looks up as he squats under a suction pipe of his new submarine that captures sea cucumbers at his workshop in Wuhan, Hubei province, March 25, 2013.
A Chinese inventor, Yang Zongfu celebrates on his six-ton (5,443 kg) ball container named Noah's Ark of China after he succeeds in a series of tests of the vessel in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, August 6, 2012. The vessel was designed to protect people inside from external heat, water and external impact.
A woman rides an unicycle at a park in Shanghai February 28, 2004. The unicycle was designed several years ago by Chinese inventor Li Yongli who called it "the number one vehicle in the world."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Business Insider on Twitter and Facebook.