Wa women in Ximeng thrives on hand-made brocades

The Wa Autonomous County of Ximeng is located in southwest Yunnan's Pu’er City, bordering Myanmar’s Shan State to the west and northwest. The Ximeng section of the China-Myanmar boundary extends for 89.3 kilometers.

At the end of 2016, the dominating Wa ethnic group makes up 71.6 percent of the 94,721 population in the autonomous county. Influenced by the warm-humid current from the Bay of Bengal, the Ximeng climate belongs to the type of subtropical monsoon maritime. 

In recent years, the local government of Ximeng has enhanced the protection of local intangible cultural heritage and helping people of Wa ethnic group preserve and inherit their ancient cultures and traditions. Now, many women villagers can make hand-woven brocades.

Cultural companies including Ximeng Impression in Yangluo Village are also participating in the efforts. They provide the locals with opportunities of learning weaving techniques and selling products of a great variety of hand-woven clothing.

In September 2018, the Chinese ministry of commerce took Ximeng as an exemplary county for popularizing e-commerce in rural areas. In April 2019, Yunnan provincial government removed the county from the impoverished list.

Source: Xinhua and Baidu; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue