National intangible cultural heritage: horse tail embroidery of Shui people

Wei Taohua, an embroiderer of the Shui ethnic group, works on a piece of horse tail embroidery in Sandu Shui Autonomous County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 6, 2019. Unlike many other embroidery styles, the horse tail embroidery of the Shui people in southwest China is characterized by unique prefabricated sewing threads made up of horse tail fibers wound with silk yarns from the outside. Using the prefabricated horse tail sewing threads, embroiderers carry out their needlework following sketches prepared in the first hand. The sophisticated procedures of the horse tail embroidery make it an acclaimed traditional art, which is also recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)