A worker lays out Liang Chou to dry in the sun (Guangzhou Daily)

An old handicraft that was facing extinction only a few years will soon to be officially recognized as a local specialty. Xiangyun Sha (香云纱), also known as Liang Chou(莨绸), is a kind of home-made silk typical from Shunde in Foshan city, Guangdong province. In 2008, when the skills required to make this cloth had nearly disappeared, the local government stepped in to make sure it would be granted the National-level Intangible Cultural Heritage label.

Local silk amateurs are now hoping to see the product receive a geographical indication (GI) label, which guarantees standard for plants, animals or handicrafts from a defined area.

Liang Chou, or Xiangyun Sha, is a handmade silk that use dyes from the juice extracted from plants. Although this silk can be found in different places throughout the province, Xiangyun Sha from Shunde is regarded as being of the highest quality due to the soil in the surrounding riverbeds. It contains special iron elements necessary in the chemical reaction that occurs in the manufacturing process. In recent years the craft has faced extinction due to the little profit that can be made from it.

(By Yao Xiaoshan, David Keyton) (The End)