She textiles
Clad in traditional costumes, two women of the She ethnic minority from Luoyuan county, one of the areas in China with the highest populations of She people, showed visitors how to fabricate colorful cloth with tools made from timber and bamboo.
She people’s traditional attire is made from homemade ramie cloth, and is embellished with geometrical patterns and laces featuring birds and flowers. The most renowned example of She clothes making is the fenghuang zhuang, or phoenix costume, a beautiful traditional outfit usually worn by She women during important festivals. The phoenix costume was added to China’s national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
However, this handicraft is under threat as few people are planting ramie, the raw material used to make the homespun cloth. Nowadays, only a handful of people wear traditional She attire, and only on special occasions.
The locals are now pinning their hope for a renaissance of the dressmaking art on tourism, according to Zhong Caitong, a male of She ethnic group.
Vine weaving
Made of wild grape vines, Yongtai county’s weaving products exhibit an interesting and valuable aging effect. The items become more attractive as their colors deepen over time, explained Zhang Qingming, curator of Yongtai’s exhibition area at the festival.
Zhang has been promoting the craft as a brand, applying for trademarks and registering two patents. And the products have won favor in the Japanese market with choice pieces sold at up to 46,000 yuan ($6,700). Zhang also brought quality products to show at the fair, where one handmade bag was tagged at nearly 9,000 yuan.
The prices are reasonable given that grape vines growing in the wild are not easy to gather, and that now, as with many other traditional crafts, the weaving art faces a problem of a lack of talented practitioners, according to Zhang.
Zhang’s effort did not come to nothing. The enduring charm of the artifacts caught the discerning eyes of international luxury brands, some of which have expressed interest in cooperating with him.
