Pic story: inheritor of Laomeihua's Qipao making technique (4)

A worker decorates a Qipao, or cheongsam, at a workshop of Laomeihua in north China's Tianjin, Dec. 18, 2019. Laomeihua is a century-old store famous for its handmade shoes and clothes. Laomeihua's Qipao, a classic one-piece and figure-fitting Chinese dress for women, is listed as an intangible cultural heritage in Tianjin for its unique style. The dress is usually made of materials like cotton and silk, with decorations of auspicious animal and floral patterns. Compared to Qipao made in southern China, Laomeihua's tends to be more formal and pragmatic. Liang Yuhua, born in 1951, has been tailoring clothes for almost fifty years. She started working at Laomeihua around the year of 2006 and is now a representative inheritor of Laomeihua's Qipao making technique. Despite her poor health, she never stops practicing and refining traditional techniques and teaching them to her apprentices, so as to keep the heritage alive and prosperous. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)