Hailed as Shanghai’s top tattoo artist, Xing Haisong spends his days inking the bodies of Chinese and foreigners, a trade he has been plying on Maoming North Road since 1999. The 36-year-old also leaves his mark on celebrities, including Shanghai-born movie star Lu Yi.

After experimenting on himself a couple of decades ago with a dragon design on his lower leg, Xing has since built up an enviable reputation in Shanghai as the best in the business – one that he is quick to downplay when questioned about it in person.

He is currently etching his longest tattoo ever. Still unfinished, it has already taken over a year to perfect as Xing likes to take his time to get it right.

Shanghai Star Weekend sat down for a chat with Xing to find out more about the man who has tattooed some 80,000 bodies in the last eight years.

Q: What’s the strangest tattoo you have ever done?

A: It’s hard to say. After you’ve done tattoos for so long, you come across a lot of people who want strange things. And once you’ve done so many, you don’t really think they are strange anymore. But one time I did this couple who decided to tattoo the soles of their feet. One had the character for “yong” and the other had “yuan”, so together it formed the word “forever”. It was a bit strange because the skin is different on the bottom of the foot – the ink rubs off easier. No one else has ever asked me to tattoo this part of the body.

Q: So, are “couple tattoos” more popular these days?

A: Not necessarily, but it’s still done. People used to get each other’s names tattooed. Then they would break up and come back to get them covered over. Now couples usually just choose identical words or phrases.

Q: Have you ever refused to do a tattoo?

A: If it is on a man’s private part, I won’t do it. Chinese men will ask weird questions, and they don’t follow instructions on how to take care of the tattooed area afterwards, so it can get inflamed. Then they come back and complain. It’s just a hassle. I have done this in the past for two or three foreigners, but only because they were old customers and we knew them well.

Q: Don’t you get bored of doing the same tattoos, like dragons?

A: No, because whether you see the person for 20 minutes or half a year, you have to remember that they are giving you their clean, untouched skin to work on, which is something special. So that makes me want to do my best.

Q: Why do you love doing what you do?

A: It’s hard to say. I’ve liked drawing ever since I was young. I mostly enjoy doing larger body tattoos. But it’s hard to find the opportunity to do them because they take a lot of time, they can be quite painful, and they are not cheap.