A Chinese man who used stencilling and light to make a “necklace” for his girlfriend has captivated mainland Chinese social media, with people praising the necklace creation for its unique artistry.

The man, surnamed Zhang, from eastern China’s Zhejiang province, told his girlfriend to expect a surprise, news site 163.com reported earlier this month.

Two days later, Zhang told his girlfriend the present was being delivered and to dress in beautiful clothes and be ready to go out when the surprise gift arrived.

Zhang later arrived and gifted her a box containing a piece of white paper with a stencilled pattern of a necklace on it.

The couple then went to an outdoor location where Zhang put the paper under a light which projected an image of an elaborate “necklace” onto her neck.

Zhang said it took him two days to carve the small holes in the paper to form the shape of the necklace.

A video of the necklace uploaded by Zhang on Douyin has received almost 40,000 comments from people online after it was viewed more than 62 million times.

“It’s so creative! It is the one and only in the world!” wrote one enamoured fan of the light necklace.

“Although he is drawing a big cake for her, it is a cultural cake,” joked another person. Drawing a large cake is a common expression for making an empty promise in mainland China.

“The light necklace is way too beautiful. He didn’t spend any money but spent his time and a lot of effort. Such a romantic man,” a third person said.

Another added: “The light will disappear, but his love will be eternal.”

But some Internet users didn’t think much of the light necklace.

“He is just poor. Using light to make a necklace is a trick,” said one person.

A few Internet users went digging into Zhang’s background and discovered he made a light “diamond ring”, also using a paper stencil, for his girlfriend last year.

“He and his girlfriend must be two interesting souls. I want to be friends with them,” one admirer commented.

 - SCMP