Rural Women Weave in Prosperous Lives Through Embroidery

Liang Shuping's embroidery training class is often joined simultaneously by more than 100 people, as rural women in Dingxing County, north China's Hebei Province, are eager to learn the intangible cultural heritage, which can bring them a stable income.

"Embroidery is just one of the seven processes in Beijing embroidery. The craft includes drawing pictures, brushing and making ready-to-wear clothes, among other steps, and each process is purely manual," said Liang, 59.

The silk embroidery craft flourished in Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and was mostly used for making imperial embroidered costumes. In 2014, the handicraft was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

"The skill inherited by artisans in Dingxing County is a branch of Beijing embroidery. My great-grandfather used to make embroidered robes for the Qing imperial court. Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed watching embroidery works on silk and satin clothes," said Liang.

She set up her own studio in the 1970s and used her embroidery skills to make clothing, handicrafts and household items.

In the past more than four decades of her artistic exploration, Liang's embroidery works have gradually earned recognition at home and abroad. She was invited to design and make ceremonial attires for participants of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

"The intangible cultural heritage is undoubtedly an important resource for rural vitalization in the country, and my goal is to turn the resource into assets," she said.

Liang has helped promote the handicraft among people in her hometown. Over the years, she has trained more than 2,000 rural women in more than 20 villages, and each of them can earn more than 20,000 yuan (about 2,973 U.S. dollars) on average every year.

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