A tradition worth dyeing for

"The Dong survived by growing rice. They needed thick, tight fabric like liangbu, to protect them from bushes as they farmed in the mountains," she says.

Yang Shenghua says she also learned to make waistbands and head covers out of the cloth, as well as how to do embroidery and lacework. "We relied on our hands for our clothes; we were self-sufficient," she adds.

In Dong villages, a mother traditionally gives liangbu as a wedding gift to her daughter, and when the daughter later gives birth, the grandmother usually gifts her a woven patterned baby carrier.

"This is only for the dearest family members," she says.