A deputy to China's National People's Congress (NPC) and member of the Yi ethnic group in Mabian Yi Autonomous County of southwest China's Sichuan Province has spent years teaching embroidery skills to Yi women to improve their livelihoods.
Famed for her outstanding needlework by the age of 18, Qiaojin Shuangmei has devoted most of her time to protecting and passing on the Yi embroidery, which has been recognized as a form of national intangible cultural heritage.
Her greatest dream is to help Yi women stay out of poverty with exquisite traditional embroidery. In 2015, she created the first embroidery cooperative in Mabian with other four women, who together led local women to make hand-embroidered craftworks and clothes.
"At the beginning, no one was doing Yi embroidery. Gradually, more people joined in. Now, we have mobilized 1,850 embroiderers and trained more than 40,000 people. Now, with flexible employment at home, the per capita annual income has exceeded 18,000 yuan," she said in Beijing with China Global Television Network, on the sidelines of the fourth session of 14th NPC, scheduled for March 5 to 12.
The NPC deputy is attempting to blend Yi techniques with modern culture -- even stitching icons like "Nezha" masks into her work after the mythical rebel entered the spotlight following the release of popular animated film.
Some of her other works have featured the masks of the famous Sanxingdui archeological site as a way to embrace China's ancient cultures as well.
By using social media platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou, she is bridging the digital divide for women in remote ethnic areas, ensuring that modernization doesn't mean leaving their culture behind. It's a push she's making at the ongoing "two sessions" -- the annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
"The general direction of my work is to continue increasing support for intangible cultural heritage. Also, for example, we can also cooperate with Africa. We can sell our Yi embroidery to Africa, which would be a very good thing. We can have some products made by African women. This way, we can achieve mutual benefit and win-win results," she said.
This vision of cross-border collaboration is at the heart of her message. She believes that the challenges faced by rural artisans are universal, and that by sharing markets and expertise, traditional crafts can become a global currency for empowerment.
On the occasion of International Women's Day, which fell on March 8, the NPC deputy also welcomed African women in joint efforts with Chinese women on intangible cultural heritage protection and development.
"May you African sisters have increasingly prosperous lives. You can also work together with Chinese women on intangible cultural heritage projects. Bring Africa's good products to Sichuan, to China, and bring China's good products to Africa. We are one family with ethnic unity," she said.
NPC deputy dedicated to improving Yi women's livelihoods with embroidery skills
