Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Chen Jianglin and Correspondent Chen Xingyang) news: Early winter on the Pamir is already sharp, yet the intangible culture heritage workshop on Gongger Road, Akto county, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, feels warm. The clean snip of scissors, the soft rustle of thread, and the lively voice from a live stream mix in one room.

Photo taken on November 18, 2025 shows a volunteer listens as an elder craftsman explains how to make the white felt hat. (Photo by Chen Xingyang)

At the bench, artisans stitch traditional Kirgiz patterns into soft white lambswool. On a nearby phone, new orders keep flashing, carrying the hat from the mountain locked plateau to every corner of the land.

The white felt hat sits at the heart of Kirgiz dress. The epic Manas sang of it more than a thousand years ago, and the steppe people have kept the craft alive ever since. On November 11, 2014, Kirgiz costume joined China's national list of intangible culture heritage.

To give the old hat new life, resident Umarqadir Erkin built the brand "Kaerlutao."

In 2023, he dreamed of turning family skill into steady work, yet he had no room to make or show a single piece.

Looking back, he said, "Without the help of the community organization, the brand would not exist."

During visits, cadres of the community learned of his plight. They cleared an idle space and set up a workshop for work, display and training. They brought in teachers, helped him register the brand and gave the craft a policy boost.

The workshop soon became a small engine for local income. Umarqadir opened free classes for people who find jobs hard to get. Because many must watch children or the old, he lets them train here, take cloth home, stitch in spare minutes, then sell finished hats back to the workshop. This loose schedule keeps family, farm and income in one loop.

"I learn at my door and clear more than 3,000 yuan a month," said Mirahan Mara, holding a freshly stitched hat band. "I can still care for the old and the kids. Life feels steady again."

So far, the workshop has trained over sixty people and given steady work to more than twenty. The tiny white hat has become the key that unlocks extra income and plants living heritage deep in daily soil.

To break the wall of distance, Umarqadir tried to sell through live streaming in 2024.

"Look, this hat uses fine lambswool form Xinjiang, soft yet strong. The tree stitch brings long life and good luck in Kirgiz eyes." He lifted the hat to the camera, answers each question and keeps the chat alive.

Today, orders from live streams and WeChat Business already make up over 90 percent of total sales. Yearly revenue has passed one million yuan, and hats now reach buyers in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

"The white felt hat now carries Kirgiz culture and puts money in people's pockets," said Qin Zhen, deputy Party secretary of Akto town. The workshop keeps heritage alive and cash flowing, and it shows a new way to run a neighbourhood: the community builds the stage, the craft supplies the power, and the residents earn the reward.

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