Folk crafts in Xiangxi

Tujia brocade, also known as Yin cloth or Ban cloth of Xizhou, is a special handicraft technique of Tujia women. Its bright colors and exquisite patterns, which contain profound and far-reaching meaning, are produced with cotton threads as vertical lines and silk, cotton and wool materials as horizontal lines in the loom machines.

Tujia brocade ranks with Dong brocade, Zhuang brocade and Dai brocade as one of the top four distinctive brocades of the ethnic minorities in China. Early in the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was listed as a tribute to the royal family. In addition, it was inscribed onto the list of national intangible cultural heritage released by the State Council on May 20, 2006.

Cross-stitch is a basic technique of folk handicraft in Xiangxi. Exquisite patterns can be stitched on one side or even two sides of homespun cloth. The patterns of cross-stitch are often symmetrical and in the shape of flowers, butterflies, birds and animals.

Traditional folk dyeing techniques have grown out of people's love for beauty. People initially used natural pigments to decorate their life and later developed special handicrafts to satisfy their demand for beauty. The most representative dyeing techniques in Xiangxi are batik, tie-dyeing and printing-style dyeing.