On July 11, the “Shanhai Splendor — Intangible Heritage Reborn” Jinzhou ICH Women’s Fashion Show concluded at the West Wing of the Suzhou Museum. Organized by the Liaoning Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and hosted by the Jinzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the event was staged on the platform of the Liaoning-Jiangsu cultural tourism special exhibition, marking a milestone in the two provinces’ cultural collaboration and traditional craft innovation program.
The show was directly tied to the “Su Embroidery Leads · Splendid Revitalization” plan — a cross-provincial initiative launched in December 2025 that focuses on ICH activation, heritage transmission, and industrial upgrading as three core pillars.
Jinzhou, a city with over a millennium of Liao-dynasty weaving heritage, draws on deep resources in Liao brocade, Liao embroidery, and Manchu embroidery. Leveraging the Suzhou-Jinzhou collaboration framework, the city partnered with the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and local ICH workshops to develop a “New Liao Brocade” fabric line. The 116 pieces on display fused ancient tailoring techniques — classic qipao silhouettes, handcrafted Pankou knots, Jinzhou embroidery, and mother-of-pearl inlay — into a cohesive Lingxi-style wardrobe system, establishing a distinctive regional ICH garment craft system for western Liaoning. Under the talent development program, Jinzhou teams conducted field research at the China National Silk Museum, the Suzhou Silk Museum, and the Liaoning Provincial Museum. Embroidery artisans were sent to Suzhou for immersive training while Suzhou masters taught workshops in Jinzhou, operating across three tiers: “Seeds,” “New Shoots,” and “Skillful Hands.”
The show adopted a dual-format presentation combining static exhibition and runway. The exhibition zone displayed ICH qipao, specialty fabrics, and cultural creative products showcasing Jinzhou’s innovation outcomes. The runway segment unfolded in four chapters: “Splendid Prefecture” recreating ancient weaving techniques; “Suzhou-Brocade Harmony” blending northern and southern textile mastery; “New Silk Road” merging Silk Road motifs with Northeast landscapes; and “Fashionable Guochao” reinterpreting Chinese-style dress through contemporary tailoring.
Jinzhou Hongyan Minghua Garments employs a workforce that is 96 percent female — dubbed the “Splendid Skilled Hands.” The company’s workshop has become a living laboratory of cross-regional ICH collaboration. This exhibition marked a vivid practice of mutual learning and co-development between northern and southern intangible heritage traditions. Moving forward, Jinzhou plans to continue tapping its ICH resources, deepen integration between Jiangnan cultural tourism and fashion industry, and strengthen the “Splendid Prefecture” city brand — using intangible heritage activation to drive cultural tourism development at a higher quality.