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Beautiful Myth of Miao Batik

The Miao Hmong ethnic tribes in southwest China are proud of their unique batik. There’s a myth about the origin of batik:When a Miao Girl Meets with ButterflyA long time ago, a beautiful and smart girl lived in a village with her sister and parents. One day when the girl worked on the cotton field, [...]

Miao Hmong Embroidery – Pictorial Record of History

Embroidery is the traditional handicraft of Miao Hmong ethnic people. As the essential ornament of Miao costume, embroidery is used almost every part of Miao Hmong clothing. Miao Hmong embroidery has a long history inherit from generations to generations by Miao Hmong women.A Legend about Miao Hmong EmbroideryThere is a legend about Miao Hmong embroidery. [...]

Thangka Painting Making

Technically making a painted thangka occurs in six steps.Prepare the CanvasA piece of cotton cloth is stitched onto a wooden frame along all its four sides. After setting up the cloth canvas in the frame, the cloth is applied on both the front and the back with a thin layer of gesso, which is made [...]

Thangka Painting Mandala

Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means “circle”. In the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the shape of a T.These mandalas, [...]

Xinjiang keeps the traditional way of making Atlas silk

For more than 1,000 years, traditional craftsmen have been making Atlas silk in Hotan prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Inspired by the shapes of flowers, leaves and fruits, the people weave beautiful patterns.Model present Atlas silk in the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regionAtlas is a traditional type of Xinjiang silk that means “graceful” [...]

Conservation of Tibetan Thangka Painting

Thangkas are intended to convey iconographic information in a pictorial manner.There is a vast amount of iconographic information provided in thangkas, some of it literally spelled out for you. If you look closely, many thangkas spell identification of figures and scenes in formal and delicately rendered scripts.Even a subtle change in colour alters the message [...]

Architectures of the Bai Ethnic

A unique building style with minority features has been mastered by generations of artisans of the Bai ethnics who have absorbed abundant building art of the Central Plains over tens of hundreds of years.Religious ArchitectureThe superb architectural skill of the Bai people is represented by the three pagodas at the Chongsheng Temple in Dali. Built [...]

Miao Cuisine, Simple and Authentic

You may think Miao/Hmong people are wealthy as wearing splendid silver jewelry, but in reality, most Miao/Hmong living in mountains with poor transportation and far away from commercial cities, most Miao live in simple lifestyle.Miao/Hmong food is quite simple even during holidays and weddings. The main food is rice. Other foods are yams, millet, corn, [...]

China traces health condition of face-tattooed women

Chinese authorities are tracking the health records of the last group of women whose faces were tattooed in a southwestern tribal tradition as they seek to preserve the vanishing ethnic culture.Chinese authorities are tracking the health records of the last group of women whose faces were tattooed in a southwestern tribal tradition as they seek [...]

The Sacred Art of Sand Mandalas ——Construction and Destruction

A mandala is a symbolic picture of the universe, used in Tibetan Buddhism and other faiths. The mandala’s purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones and to assist with healing. Sand mandalas are particularly used in Tibetan Buddhism. According to Buddhist scripture, mandalas constructed from sand transmit positive energies to the environment [...]