Artisans stitch silken dreams

More than 1,000 years old, Sui horse-tail embroidery is finding fresh audiences and new markets

More than 1,000 years old, the Sui ethnic group's horse-tail embroidery remains one of China's most distinctive textile traditions. Practiced mainly in Sandu Sui autonomous county in Guizhou province, the craft involves wrapping silk thread around horsehair to create raised outlines before embroidering intricate patterns within them.

Celebrated for its technical complexity and artistic refinement, it is often described as the "living fossil" of Chinese embroidery. In 2006, it was included in China's first National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.