Ethnic silver jewelry in Chongqing gains popularity

In Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county under Chongqing municipality, 46-year-old Tuo Junhe has been dedicating himself to bringing traditionally made silver jewelry to the market.

Tuo, born into a local Miao silversmith family, started a silver jewelry workshop in 2011, using ancestral techniques to create Miao-styled jewelry and household items.

Now the sole inheritor of Chongqing's intangible cultural heritage project of "Miao Silver Jewelry Forging Techniques", Tuo still carefully executes every step in crafting silver products.

Pengshui is the only autonomous county in Chongqing predominantly inhabited by the Miao ethnic group, where the tradition of wearing silver jewelry has long been retained.

"It can be said that Miao silver jewelry is a totem of worship for the Miao people," Tuo explained, adding that Miao silver jewelry comes in many forms, adorning the body from head to toe, including headwear, chest and neck pieces, hand ornaments, clothing adornments and footwear.

However, creating a set of exquisite Miao silver jewelry involves more than 30 complex techniques and over 100 procedures, including smelting, casting, forging, chiseling, hollowing, welding and braiding, he said.

As a purely handcrafted process, making silver jewelry requires significant time and effort, as well as patience and attention to detail, and even a small piece takes extensive time to create, which is why few are cut out for the work, Tuo added.

In recent years, Pengshui has leveraged its beautiful natural environment and rich historical and cultural resources to explore the potential of ethnic, ecological and cultural assets, making Miao silver jewelry one of its most creative products and loved by many, Tuo said.

These products, like other Miao ethnic items including embroidery, sweet potato noodles, Taiji water and Fire Ji fruit, are achieving both cultural preservation and economic benefits, he said.

At Chiyou Jiuli Town Scenic Spot, Wang Guangrong sells and rents Miao costumes in her store.

"Our most popular items are Miao silver jewelry, which is also a highlight for travelers looking to take photos," Wang said.

Every day, many tourists visit the store to buy or rent Miao clothing, often selecting intricately designed Miao silver jewelry to accompany their outfits.

On Aug 26, Wang Aiwei visited the scenic area and immersed herself in the diversity and unique charm of Miao culture, saying, "The silver jewelry is not only crisp and pleasant, but also very beautiful — it's a must-have for photos."

Walking through the scenic area, Miao silver jewelry is everywhere, especially in specialty shops, where silver hats, silver wine sets, silver horns, silver hairpins, silver bracelets, silver tea sets, silver cutlery, silver clothing ornaments and silver chest ornaments are all popular with customers.

"Each piece of handcrafted silver jewelry is unique, forged by silversmiths with great care, which is why they are so beloved," Tuo said.

As one of the 100 key counties for comprehensive rocky desertification control in China's karst areas, Pengshui started to restore forest and grass vegetation since 2011 on its karst areas covering 3,437 square kilometers, making the county more and more beautiful, and leading to booming eco-tourism.