Embroidery helps women stitch a future

Speaking about her journey, her sister Wei Peibei, who also has two children, says: "My family now has a house, and we bought a new car a few years ago.

"Now it is convenient for me to take care of my children and the elderly, since I don't need to leave home for work."

As of now, the town has 32 small embroidery factories producing goods worth some 6 million yuan each year. The town's per capita income today is about 10 times that of five years ago. The progress can be traced back to Wei Zuying. Speaking about her success, Wei says innovation is key.

It started with Wei embroidering a template piece manually. Then, her husband put in the data of the pattern into the computer. Later, the machine read the data and stitched the embroidery according to the template.

Wei learned about this technology when she worked at a clothing factory in Guangzhou. It usually takes a woman about half a month to complete an embroidery piece which is about 30 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide, says Wei. Such a work is worth about 2,000 yuan.

Using machines significantly increases efficiency and saves time, she adds.

Wei, who learned to embroider at age 6, designs new templates every year where she tends to blend traditional Miao patterns with modern designs.

Earlier this month, as a new deputy to the 13th National People's Congress, Wei wore her new designs for the two sessions in Beijing. On the sleeves of the outfit are embroidered patterns with gold threads. The embroidery includes a lotus, trees, birds and butterflies.

Looking ahead, Wei says: "We need new designs every year so that people like our products."

Separately, Wei also hopes that her operation expands so that women in neighboring villages can join the embroidery business.

Zhang Boning contributed to the story.