Every time Liu Xianglan sits gracefully on the ground with her back straight, fastens a handloom around her waist, and begins to weave, a steady stream of questions flows from the curious visitors to her hometown of Wuzhishan city in South China's Hainan province.
They are mostly eager to learn how the colorful threads move back and forth on a set of anachronistic-looking tools and transform into the delicate patterns of Li brocade, says the woman in her 50s.
The loom, an ancient yet ingenious device, stretches before her, with one end tied to a wooden post secured by her feet, while the other is wrapped around her lower back, allowing her to control the tension of the threads through her posture and movements.
"This is warp thread and that is weft thread. These small wooden rods have different functions. Some are for pulling the threads or arranging the warp, and some are for securing the threads," says Liu from Fanmao village in Wuzhishan.
"The size of the fabric varies, so the number of threads required also changes. For example, a brocade that is 20 centimeters wide needs 50 to 60 bundles of threads, but for a 30-cm-wide piece, you need 150 bundles of threads."
