Miao embroiderer takes ethnic intangible heritage to world stage

After corrective surgery, Zhang was finally able to walk with crutches, but due to the family's heavy financial burden, Pan began to sell Miao embroidery products across the country and traveled to a number of cities including Guiyang, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and other places by train.

Zhang remembered that her mother was always back home in a hurry, bringing a lot of candies and new clothes to her, but she never complained about her hardship.

In 1999, Zhang went to Beijing to join her mother after graduation from high school, to do business while learning embroidery. At that time, Pan had a stall in Panjiayuan Antique Market, covering about 6 or 7 square meters, where she met many foreign friends. "They advised me to go abroad and sell cultural and creative products. Over the 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, I went to the United States to do business related to Miao embroidery," Pan said.

Xia Hua, chairwoman of Eve Group, a garment brand in China, has been deeply engaged in the intangible heritage embroidery industry for more than 30 years, and has been looking for embroiderers in the mountainous area of Guizhou for years.

In 2016, Pan became a contracted embroiderer of Xia's handicraft workshop. Xia then took Pan and other embroiderers from Guizhou to the United Kingdom to participate in various fashion show activities. Foreigners who were interested in Miao embroidery flocked to take photos with the Chinese embroiderers.