Pakistan students try their hands at making Hunan embroidery. (Photo/Yang Huafeng)

“It’s amazing! I’d like to take more photos and share them with my family and friends in Pakistan to let them see the elegant Xiang embroidery. I’m truly enchanted by Huxiang culture” said the 22-year-old Mu Jun (Chinese name), who became a fan of Hunan embroidery at first sight.

The Hunan Provincial People’s Government Information Office and the China News Service Hunan Branch organized activity of “I’m waiting for you in Hunan – Foreigners in Hunan Experience Hunan Embroidery” in Changsha on December 7, 2021. As a result, several Pakistan students studying at the Hunan University of Chinese Medicine visited the Hunan Embroidery Museum and Hunan Embroidery Research Institution and tried their hands at embroidery making.

Foreign students are observing theelegant embroidery. (Photo/Yang Huafeng)

Hunan embroidery, also called Xiang embroidery, is one of the four famous embroideries in China. With a long history of more than 2,500 years, it is widely known worldwide for its distinct cultural features and exquisite embroidery techniques. Hunan embroidery has been exhibited and awarded at international shows in Japan, Panama, and the U.S.A recent years. Group after a group of foreigners came to Hunan to appreciate and study such exquisite crafts.

“Being astounded” is a typical comment by most of the Pakistan students when they saw Hunan embroidery at the Hunan Embroidery Museum. Jun Xing (Chinese name), 22 years old, was astonished by two embroidery panels of sika deer and watering horses made in the Qing Dynasty. “Chinese culture is of long-standing. Such an old work has been preserved for so long. “The embroidery techniques are superb,” said Jun Xing. He continued, “Presenting painting culture with silk is amazing.”

The double-sided embroidery with two different images on both sides – panda and tiger, was made in the 1990s by Zhou Jinxiu, a handicraft master in the Asian-Pacific region. The images, colors, and stitches are different on the two sides of the work, and even the animal hairs are vividly shown through the embroiderer’s superb techniques. As a masterpiece of its kind, it has been displayed in many countries such as Finland and Thailand.

An international student appreciates embroidery work in the Hunan Embroidery Museum. (Photo/Yang Huafeng)

The foreign students praised this eye-catching work as “a magic art”. “It is so vivid like a live panda! Hunan embroidery is amazing” said Sha Ji (Chinese name). He said he would take photos and pose them on Facebook and WeChat, to introduce Hunan embroidery to more people.

Under the instruction of embroidery masters, the students tried to make embroideries with Huxiang cultural elements, such as crayfish and Aiwan Pavilion. Li Qi (Chinese name), a Chinese culture fan, completed his embroidery work “Crayfish” and mounted it.

“I’ve seen many videos about China and been enchanted by Chinese culture. Thus, I came here for study,” said Li Qi. He loves Hunan cuisine, Chinese tea culture, paper cutting, and Chinese shadow puppetry. When the epidemic is over, he would like to invite his friends to Hunan to learn about and experience Hunan embroidery. He also hoped that embroidery would become a new cultural bridge between Pakistan and China.

In recent years, the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative has dramatically expanded the overseas market for Hunan embroidery. Many young people joined and made innovations to bring new life to this ancient craft and apply it to modern life. Pakistani girl Xu Yuan (Chinese name) was attracted by various innovative products, such as embroidered notebooks and intelligent speakers that demonstrated thintegration of traditional Hunan embroidery techniques with modern science and technology.

“We also have embroidery in Pakistan. However, Hunan embroidery is much more long-standing and innovative. It meets the aesthetic needs of young people,” said Xu Yuan. Hunan embroidery is popular with Pakistani, and the costumes and home textiles with Hunan embroidery elements sell well in her country, too, she added.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: chinanews