Intangibleheritage Lives

Experienced crafters share their technology in an innovative mission to protect China’s intangible culture heritage

ON Beijing’s Qianmen Avenue, hidden between two alleyways a few steps from Tiananmen Square is the small workshop of Yao Huifen. From the outside, you would have a hard time believing that this new and modern-looking shop contains a world of millennial treasures.

Yao is a master of the traditional craftsmanship of Suzhou embroidery, which is listed as an intangible cultural heritage of China. Originally from Suzhou City in east China’s Jiangsu Province, this art form - famous for its refined designs and elegant colors - was struggling to find its relevance in modern society. But since her personal workshop opened a year ago, Yao is increasingly optimistic about the future of Suzhou embroidery.

Aside from an increase in sales and a proportionate raise in her income, the most important change to Yao, 49, is that her craft now benefits from an important platform in the very heart of the capital.

“More and more young university students want to learn Suzhou embroidery; they visit my workshop to learn its history and then ask us to teach them the techniques. There is a demand for long-term embroidery training courses, and we are working toward that,” she told Chinafrica.

Passing on to a younger generation her passion for the beauty, the elegance and the refinement of the ancient art of Suzhou embroidery has become the life mission of this craft master. Experience Center, which opened its doors to the public in December 2016, at its core.

Once the $3.8-billion project is completed, 1,000 specific art forms from 12 major kinds of craftsmanship will be available to the public, showcasing the excellent skills of more than 1,000 Chinese masters from all over the country.

This project is fully in line with the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2003 by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which aims to protect the “practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and know-how that communities recognize as part of their cultural heritage.”