Miao embroidery works reach more people through livestreams

In a small shop in Shidong township, Taijiang county, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Liu Xiufa and her family gathered to adjust their equipment and prepare for a livestream.

Liu Xiufa and her family member prepare for a livestream on June 22, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

Liu Xiufa, 63, is a representative inheritor of the Miao embroidery, which is an intangible cultural heritage.

"I started learning Miao embroidery from my grandmother at a young age. Miao girls learn embroidery and use needles and threads to embroider the tales and history of the ethnic group onto clothes we wear," Liu said.

"When I was 25, during the Miao Sisters Festival, a French tourist was impressed by the clothes I embroidered and followed me home, eventually buying them for 60,000 yuan ($8,255)," Liu said. The Miao Sisters Festival is regarded as the folk Valentine's Day of the Miao ethnic group.

This made Liu realize that Miao embroidery could become an industry.

With this in mind, Liu dedicated herself to perfecting her craft and expanding her market. She established a workshop. With the rapid development of the cultural and tourism industry across the country, the workshop's business flourished and became the family's main source of income.

Liu Xiufa makes a piece of embroidery work at home on June 22, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

In the past few years, Guizhou has been providing free e-commerce training in rural areas. Thanks to the younger generation in Liu's family who took part in the training, Liu's embroidery works have gained widespread recognition after being showcased on social media and short-video platforms.

"We can now sell our products online from our homes. Online sales have rapidly become the primary channel, accounting for nearly 60 percent of our total sales," Liu said.

With sales steadily growing, the workshop and 80 rural embroiderers have established a cooperative mechanism, working together to fulfill orders and collectively increase their income.

In 2022, Liu's family decided to jump on the bandwagon of livestreams. With help from Liu's daughter and daughter-in-law, Liu turned into a livestream host.

Liu Xiufa introduces the stories behind her Miao embroidery works on camera on June 22, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

During Liu's livestreams, she doesn't enthusiastically promote or sell. She simply focuses on her embroidery while casually chatting, talking about the origins of the patterns and the characteristics of the clothing.