The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 49.5 in November, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, official data showed Sunday.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.
The service sector, influenced by the fading effect of the holiday season, saw its business activity index fall to 49.5, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Railway transportation, telecommunications and broadcasting, and monetary and financial services maintained strong growth, with their activity indices staying above 55.
The business expectation index for the service sector, although dipping slightly by 0.2 percentage points, stayed at a relatively high level of 55.9, indicating sustained optimism among service firms about future market prospects, according to the NBS.
"In terms of market expectations, the services business activity expectation index remains in the high expansion range, indicating that most service enterprises maintain optimism about future market prospects," said Huo Lihui, director of the business climate survey division under the service survey center of the NBS.
In a positive shift, construction activity showed signs of recovery. The business activity index for the construction sector rose to 49.6 in November, up by 0.5 percentage points from the previous month.
China's non-manufacturing PMI stands at 49.5 in November
China's non-manufacturing PMI stands at 49.5 in November
China's non-manufacturing PMI stands at 49.5 in November
Li Li, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Guizhou Province, has made it her mission to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the Buyi people, particularly their traditional clothing.
Born and raised in a village of Qinglong County, Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Li began learning the intricate handicrafts of the Buyi people from her mother at a young age.
After spending over a decade working away from home, she felt a strong calling to return and safeguard her cultural roots. In 2015, she returned to her roots to start a business with the vision to revitalize Buyi clothing.
"Starting my own business was really tough in the beginning. If you want to make a Western-style suit, you could just buy some fabric and copy an existing design. But ethnic clothing is different. It requires constant innovation, and that takes a huge amount of time. Traditional fabrics tend to fade, and I spent months just trying to figure out how to fix the color. This problem had kept me up for a long time. But eventually, I tackled the challenges one by one," Li said.
Her persistence has paid off. This year, Li's team tapped into the cultural symbolism of the Year of the Horse, creating a range of horse-themed products that have quickly gained popularity.
"This year is the Year of the Horse, so we created a lot of horse-themed items. They are very popular and orders have been pouring in. Every year, we design our cultural products and clothing based on what the market wants. We started with a 300-square-meter workshop, and now we have our own intangible cultural heritage center. Over the years, we've trained more than a thousand embroiderers," she said.
As a grassroots NPC deputy, Li prioritizes listening to the voices of ordinary people. During work sessions with embroiderers, she takes time to listen to their concerns and offers flexible schedules for those with special needs.
The preservation of ethnic clothing and culture has always been at the heart of her work.
"During this year's 'two sessions', I will continue to focus on the preservation of ethnic clothing and culture. I want to encourage more young people to get involved in cultural inheritance. For example, I've been going to schools to teach students because I hope that intangible cultural heritage can take root in children's hearts from an early age. I want them to grow up knowing how remarkable our ethnic culture is and to develop a strong sense of cultural pride," Li said.
The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Conference, China's top political advisory body,which usually convene in early March.
NPC deputy from Guizhou revitalizes Buyi culture through inheritance and innovation
