Ethnic Embroidery of Qiang: A Miracle in Chinese Folk Art

Women of Qiang ethnic group do embroidery at a workstation in Yinxing Township of Wenchuan County in the Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, southwest China's Sichuan Province, March 1, 2012. The Qiang ethnic minority, with a history of more than 3,000 years, is one of the original ethnic groups in China. The traditional Qiang embroidery has been listed as one of the national intangible cultural heritages. However, the Qiang culture suffered from severe destruction after the devastating earthquake in 2008, which left a total of 87,000 people dead or missing and millions homeless. To revive the endangered Qiang embroidery became an important part of local government's post-disaster reconstruction program. With support of a women's organization in Aba, a training school was set up to teach local women the Qiang embroidery skills for free. Women also benefited from more than 30 workstations in many counties in Aba, which offered instruction to them on the embroidery business as well as production. All these efforts have helped the Qiang embroidery get effective salvation and protection. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)