Yi embroidery from Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, is recognized as a national-level intangible cultural heritage. Inspired by everyday life, artisans transform familiar objects into intricate patterns embroidered onto garments.

With a history spanning more than 1,800 years, Chuxiong Yi embroidery has made its way from the mountains of southwest China to international runways, thanks in part to Jin Ruirui.

Jin is a prefecture-level inheritor of Yi costume-making in Mouding county, Chuxiong. After graduating from university in 2014 at the age of 25, she worked as a television program director in several cities. A phone call from her mother, however, changed everything. Mouding county was making a major push to develop Yi embroidery, and her mother hoped Jin would carry the craft forward.

Jin chose to return home and start a business, founding a company dedicated to promoting Yi embroidery.

To find new markets for Chuxiong Yi embroidery, she traveled extensively to trade fairs and exhibitions. The experience opened her eyes. Like many heritage crafts, Yi embroidery was a hidden gem — beautiful, yet largely overlooked by consumers. Jin felt that traditional crafts must evolve with the times and stay relevant in modern life to survive.

With this new perspective, she designed a black handbag embellished with rhododendron delavayi flower motifs. To her surprise, it quickly became a hit.

Rather than limiting the craft to traditional clothing, Jin began reimagining classic Yi motifs such as rhododendron delavayi flowers and incorporating them into brooches, sun hats, and cultural and creative accessories.

Chuxiong has made Yi embroidery a key driver of both cultural preservation and rural development. The prefecture has established 77 embroidery workshops and 513 embroidery studios. Over the past decade, the value added of Chuxiong's Yi embroidery industry has increased more than tenfold, while average income among embroiderers has grown nearly five times over.

In September 2023, creative Yi embroidery designs co-produced by Jin were showcased at Milan Fashion Week, where she also presented products from her company.

Today, Jin has helped more than 1,000 Yi women embroiderers earn a living while caring for their families.

One of them is Yang Juping. Disabled since childhood, she was left to care for her young child and bedridden mother on her own, making ends meet by selling handmade crafts.

In 2023, while teaching at a training program organized by the local disabled persons' federation, Jin noticed Yang's eagerness to learn. Impressed by her solid skills and dedication, she immediately invited her to join the team. Today, Yang is a senior embroiderer at the company and also serves as a training instructor.