Embroidery works find a new market

Irecently participated in a Miao embroidery and silver ornament exhibition held at Kaili in Southwest China's Guizhou province, a place with a multi-ethnic population.

The exhibition was part of a series of activities held by the local government to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture.

Miao embroidery and silver ornaments are important parts of Miao culture. On display at the exhibition was China's largest Miao silver lock, which measured 3 meters by 2 meters.

Made from more than 85 kilograms of silver, the lock took five months to finish.

It is believed that silver locks can bring people longevity, wealth and health. Miao people like to wear such precious metal ornaments from head to toe, especially on important occasions.

Besides that, what impressed me most was the Miao embroidery, a kind of Chinese embroidery created by the Miao ethnic group, which is also listed as part of the country's intangible cultural heritage.

As part of the Miao ethnic group's unique cultural characteristics, Miao embroidery is a perfect combination of culture and arts, which reflects the costumes of local people and also represents the highest skill of China's ethnic embroidery.

The Miao ethnic group doesn't have its own written language, and the images on the embroidery works have become a way to deliver their ideas. The images, such as animals and flowers usually depict a mythical or religious topic.

The first time I saw Miao embroidery was during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo when I went to report on the Guizhou pavilion. There I was deeply impressed by those glamorous artistic creations.

The meticulous and neat stitching and assortments of glowing colors were charming enough to catch my eye.

Despite the rich cultural diversity, many places in Qiandongnan prefecture are relatively poor in terms of GDP. In recent years, the government has been looking for ways to drive local economic development.

"Many local Miao ethnic women are good at embroidery, so we want to create a new way to help them add income through their handiworks," said Yang Keli, president of Akeli Embroidery Women's Cooperative.

With the help of local government, Yang established the cooperative in April, and it is the first of its kind in the prefecture. It not only provides training for local female embroiderers, but also helps them sell their works.

"We teach these female embroiderers how to infuse some fashion elements into traditional works, and create more embroidery works to meet market demand," Yang said. "Meanwhile, we also help them promote these works on the market."

During the exhibition, the booth run by Yang's cooperative attracted many visitors. Meanwhile, a batch of embroidery works by local women was on sale at the exhibition.

Many women in the cooperative are from families with difficult lives and they are grateful that the cooperative has provided them with some income.

In less than three months, the cooperative has attracted more than 100 embroiderers. Some works have even been sold to overseas markets, Yang said.

The government of the prefecture said in its 2015 government report that it will establish more than 10 embroidery cooperatives to help local ethnic women improve their lives.

Contact the writer at wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn.