Liu Yunfang, living in Xiangfen county of Linfen city in Shanxi province, learned the art of making xiuqiu (a ball made of strips of silk) from her mother-in-law for more than 10 years.

Then she trained women in her village the skill to further develop the handicraft. The technique of making silk ball has been listed as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage and she is an inheritor. Now the silk ball has become a local cultural brand, generating an annual output value of nearly 1 million yuan ($141,494.8).

Taiping silk ball, once popular in ancient Taiping county in southern Shanxi province, and now Xiangfen county of Linfen city, is a traditional auspicious ornament.

Liu Yunfang works on a silk ball. [Photo/IC]

Liu Yunfang learns the skill from her mother-in-law. [Photo/IC]