In an afternoon in early April in Yizhou District, Hami City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ranagul Supihy was dedicated to her work in her embroidery studio. She had just returned from Shanghai Fashion Week at the end of March.

Hami Uygur embroidery is on the list of State-level intangible cultural heritage items. And Ranagul is a municipal-level inheritor of Hami Uygur embroidery and a master of arts and crafts in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Since 2016, her embroidery has stepped on the stages of Paris Fashion Week and Shanghai Fashion Week multiple times. One of her embroidered pieces was used as a decorative element of a gown in 2016 at Paris Fashion Week, which was later sold for a high price of 270,000 yuan (about 37,296 U.S. dollars) in a post-show sale.

"I have participated in various trainings organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and regional government. Only by stepping into the broader world can one truly appreciate the beauty of Chinese ethnic embroidery. Hami embroidery developed itself through the integration and exchange of embroidery techniques such as Su embroidery (often called Suzhou embroidery) and Beijing embroidery. Openness and integration can bring vitality, and awareness of the importance of these two qualities is also what we need as excellent embroiderers," said Ranagul.

Inheritance of the tradition

Hami, located at the intersection of the Central Plains and the Western Regions, has long been a place of cultural exchange. And Hami embroidery is the fruit that grows from this fertile land, becoming a part of the outstanding traditional Chinese culture. What lies behind Hami embroidery is an unforgettable story.

A four-story building stands next to the village committee of Shazaojing Village, Huicheng Township, Yizhou District, Hami City, and this is the location of the Hami Traditional Handicraft Workshop.

In the workstation exhibition hall, a diverse collection of Hami embroidery artifacts from various periods is on display. Stepping into the exhibition halls is like taking a step on a journey towards history. Visitors can view samples, patterns, paper cuttings, tools, and modern cultural and creative products of Hami embroidery here.

According to Hao Changli, vice director of the Literature and History Research Office of ,Hami City, in the winter of 1698, the first generation of Hui Muslim kings was summoned to the imperial court. In Beijing, the king was greatly impressed by the exquisite Su embroidery and Beijing embroidery, and specifically invited dozens of Su and Beijing embroiderers to teach embroidery skills to women in Hami.

"Over the past hundred years, Su and Beijing embroidery have flourished in Hami and played an important role in the field of embroidery in Xinjiang," said Hao Changli. Today, Hami embroidery is keeping up with the times, incorporating modern cultural elements, and constantly achieving new developments.

Kader Rehman is a renowned embroidery master in Hami. As a representative of Hami embroidery, his works have participated in numerous exhibitions at the national, autonomous region and provincial levels across the country.

Photo shows Kader Rehman (middle) explains embroidery techniques to embroiderers. (Photo by Zhang Wande)

"It was a folk art exhibition in Hami City that led me to my embroidery life. I received praise from experts at that exhibition," recalled Kader at the workshop. He highlighted the efforts that Xinjiang makes on the inheritance and protection of folk crafts, with annual exhibitions and training sessions.　

The Hami Uygur embroidery was listed in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage items in June 2008. Inheritors of this craft started training new generations of apprentices. Since the establishment of the Hami Traditional Handicraft Workshop in March 2016, it has attracted excellent embroidery artists. In the same year, with the support of the former Ministry of Culture (renamed the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018), over 300 embroidery artists from Hami, including Kader, were dispatched to universities such as the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University and Guangzhou University for further studies. Kader said, "I'll remember the learning experience from these training sessions for the rest of my life."

Harmonious coexistence brings forth diverse beauty　　

"When embroidering, attention must be paid to color combinations. Peonies, Buddha’s hand citron, lotuses, plum blossoms, and pomegranate flowers all require different colored threads..." On April 7, 2024, at the embroidery workshop in the Tuanjie Community of Xihe Street in Yizhou District, Hami, the municipal-level inheritor of Hami Uygur embroidery, Ayxam Mamat, explained embroidery techniques to residents. The walls were adorned with exquisite embroidered pieces.

In Hami, embroidery has been integrated into people's lives. Embroiderers can be seen busing everywhere in urban and rural communities.

"Some embroiderers ask during training, 'Why can these flowers, which are not native to Xinjiang, be seen in the patterns of Hami embroidery?' I tell them that it is because so many flowers come from the Central Plains and southern China. The patterns have been passed down through generations, reflecting the unity of the Chinese nation." Kader said during an introduction of a typical Hami embroidery work, "This is a lotus flower, but it has a pomegranate flower vine, with Buddha's hand citron blossom on the other side of the vine. I find this imaginative design quite captivating."

Multiple flowers on one stem directly reflect the cultural integration in Hami embroidery works.

After the establishment of the Hami Traditional Handicraft Workshop, local folklore and history experts as well as scholars were organized to rescue and study embroidery patterns of various ethnic groups in the Hami region, publishing books such as Hami Embroidery Pattern Collection and Product Manuals. It is evident from these books that the influence of Central Plains culture is deeply ingrained in these patterns.

Apart from the designs of the pattern, the needlework of Hami embroidery has also incorporated techniques from Su embroidery and Beijing embroidery. Kader said, "In Hami embroidery, you can find many design motifs and techniques derived from Su embroidery and Beijing embroidery."

Different flowers blooming on one stem showcase the flourishing of various ethnic cultures within the traditional Chinese culture.

Embrace the future

"During Shanghai Fashion Week, dozens of my embroidered works turned into the decorative elements of the model clothes, and received widespread praise from exhibitors and audiences," said Ranagul.

In 2016, a research group with experts specializing in cultural heritage protection conducted research in Xinjiang. The research group attached great importance to the protection and inheritance of Hami embroidery, coordinating the leading role of the Yachang Cultural Group Co., Ltd., selecting three nationally renowned design teams to promote Hami embroidery's transition into the modern cultural industry.

In addition, they collaborate with institutions such as the School of Fine Arts and Design of Guangzhou University, the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Xinjiang Normal University, and the Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute, academic research on Hami embroidery and training for local embroidery artisans in Hami were also conducted.

Ranagul became the contracted designer for Qin Xu’s team. Qin, being a renowned fashion designer, incorporated Ranagul’s embroidery work with fashion elements, and created a series of clothing pieces such as "The Blossoming," "TOIETMOI You and Me," "Intoxicated in Green," and "Gentle Backbone," which garnered significant attention at Paris Fashion Week and Shanghai Fashion Week, receiving high praise from the fashion media.

On the other hand, Kader was appointed as the chief designer at Shanxi Guanmu Culture Media Co., Ltd. With the company's support, Kader formed a core team of over 30 embroiderers and conducted embroidery skills training sessions that received over 3,000 attendees. The embroidery orders distributed by the company bring an income of over 3,000 yuan to the participating embroiderers. And these embroidery works have been sold from Shanxi to all over the country.

With centuries of history, Hami embroidery has long become an integral part of the lives of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The Hami Traditional Handicraft Workshop houses a collection of Hami embroidered clothing and patches gathered from various regions of Xinjiang since the mid-Qing Dynasty. Currently, with the booming tourism industry in Xinjiang, the exquisite Hami embroidery products are increasingly popular among tourists. This ancient craft is revitalized with a new charm, demonstrating the vibrant energy of intangible cultural heritage in the new era.

At the Hami Traditional Handicraft Workshop, skilled embroiderers have designed over 1,300 types of embroidery products, including traditional items like pillowcases, bed linens, and clothing, as well as cultural and creative travel bags, laptop cases, phone covers, outdoor gear, decorative paintings, covering a wide range of cultural and creative products, everyday items, toys, and tourist souvenirs. The market potential of Hami embroidery continues to be unleashed.

The vitality of innovation is emerging, and the production of large-scale Hami embroidery machine-made products has also appeared. At the Yizhou Flower Ethnic Embroidery Professional Cooperative in Taojiagong Town, Yizhou District, the newly introduced computerized embroidery machines can mass-produce numerous pattern designs, helping batches of farmers and herdsmen increase their income.

Borhan Abliz, the head of the cooperative, still believes that hand-embroidered products can better showcase the skills and design concepts of embroiderers. "We need to focus on high-end personalized design and continue to introduce hand-embroidered products by embroiderers. This way, Hami embroidery can go even further."

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