Inside a workshop in Jingning She Autonomous County, Zhejiang Province, workers are racing to finish She ethnic costumes for the Zhejiang Basketball Association tournament. Bright phoenix patterns cover the fabric, a visual signature of one of China’s most concentrated traditional costume production centers. According to recent reports, more than 70 percent of She ethnic costumes sold nationwide are produced in Jingning.
Two generations, two strategies
The county’s success rests on a split approach. Chen Weijuan, a provincial-level inheritor of She ethnic costume techniques, has spent nearly thirty years preserving classical methods. Her garments keep traditional phoenix and cloud-water geometric motifs, and several pieces have been collected by official museums. Her workshop functions as both a production space and a classroom, offering free evening training sessions and study tours.
Xia Anjing, a county-level She embroidery inheritor, takes a different path. She develops lightweight, lifestyle products such as sachets, round fans, tea mats, bookmarks, and decorative pendants. Her team participates in the national “Genius Mom” charity project, which helps rural women earn income through handicrafts at home. One of her embroidered mirrors has sold in Italy, and several items have won provincial design awards.
The shift matters because She embroidery was once limited to festival and wedding garments. By turning the same motifs into small accessories and home objects, the craft enters everyday spaces. Local authorities have introduced industry standards for She embroidery and She ethnic clothing, and the county has hosted six consecutive ethnic costume showcases. These measures help standardize quality without freezing the designs in museum form.
Jingning currently has four national-level intangible heritage items, twenty-one provincial-level items, and more than 180 inheritors at county level or above. The county has developed over 200 heritage-themed creative products. Beyond costumes, She silver jewelry and a modernized black-rice food line have also won market recognition. The overall picture is a county using traditional craft as an industrial anchor, not just a cultural symbol.
The Jingning case shows how an ethnic textile tradition can survive through production, not only performance. For readers interested in Chinese traditional dress, the county is a reminder that Hanfu is not the only living costume heritage. She embroidery, with its phoenix motifs, locked-stitch technique, and modern product lines, offers a parallel example of how traditional craft can be both protected and sold.