Zhang Wuyi sits in his newly made multi-seater submarine at his new workshop near an artificial pool in Wuhan, Hubei province, November 14, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer 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.