Women weave path to prosperity in Pu’er

Li Xianlan, an inheritor of Wa brocade intangible cultural heritage, teaches students how to weaves brocade in Yangluo Village, Ximeng Wa Autonomous County, southwest Yunnan’s Pu’er City.

Li Xianlan used to teach weaving skills in a vocational school and she was always fascinated by brocade waving from Wa ethnic minority group. After retirement in 2015, she established a company focusing on providing free tapestry skills to poor, left-behind, and disabled women who was willing to participate in the training.

Na Hong was one of them. She started to learn waving when she was a teenager. She joined Li Xianlan’s workshops many years ago and now she has a stable income thanks to this handicraft tradition.

Nowadays, Wa brocade is not only a traditional culture in Ximeng but also a way of living for locals. On May 24, 2021, Wa brocade weaving skill was included in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

Like Na Hong, nearly 2,000 people participated in the workshop. More than 20,000 brocade products were produced and sold home and abroad in a year, bringing the job opportunities and income for the local people.

Reporting by Liu Xuantong (Yunnan Net); Photos by Pu'er Daily; Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi