A Dong embroiderer shows samples of colorful embroidery just finished. [Photo by Na Zhikui and Lei Juan for chinadaily.com.cn]

The Dong ethnic group in Southwest China's Guizhou province possesses excellent embroidery skills, which are increasingly attractive to visitors.

The Dong have no written language, so they wove their history and legends into numerous fabrics and created curtains, sheets, straps and ethnic costumes. Their lives are surrounded by handmade fabrics, in which wisdom from their ancestors is entwined on the cloth in the flowers, insects, fish, sun, stars, myths and legends, as well as in many unknown design patterns.

Dong embroidery, a traditional craft, integrates textile, printing and dyeing, paper-cutting and embroidery, resulting in its rich variety, novel shape and charming colors. Dong embroidery was listed in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2011.

Wang Jin in Guiyang contributed to this story.