Zhou Haiyun
Zhou Haiyun is a laureate of the Inaugural National Master of Intangible Cultural Heritage Craftsmanship, as well as the orthodox fourth-generation inheritor of Suzhou Embroidery’s Random Stitch school.
Her distinguished titles also include Master of Arts and Crafts of Jiangsu Province, National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor, Senior Research-Level Arts and Crafts Artist, National Model Woman Worker and National pacesetter for Women’s Meritorious Service.She is recognized as a Jiangsu Provincial Distinguished Rural Talent for "Leading Innovation, Industries and Colleagues", a member of the China Arts and Crafts Association, and Executive Director of the Jiangsu Arts and Crafts Association. Additionally, she serves as a Party Representative of Suzhou, Executive Director of the Suzhou Arts and Crafts Industry Association, Key High-Skilled Talent of Gusu District, Leading Cultural Talent of Suzhou High-Tech Zone, and Industrial Professor at Suzhou Art & Design Technology Institute.She has authored two publications: Sailing Across the Art Realm: Suzhou Embroidery by Zhou Haiyun (ISBN: 978-7-5344-8322-6) and Masterpieces of Suzhou Craft Series — Selected Embroidery Works by Zhou Haiyun (ISBN: 978-7-5479-1717-6).Zhou holds national invention patents for her original techniques: the Three-Two Combined Random Stitchand Three-Dimensional Layered Embroidery. Boasting over five decades of professional experience in embroidery, she has mentored more than 2,000 apprentices. Since the late 1980s, she has been among the pioneering artists who brought Suzhou embroidery creations by local craftswomen to the wider world.
Lu Xiaolin
Lu xiaolin,a young distinguished embroidery artist and the fifth-generation orthodox inheritor of Random Stitch Embroidery, she holds the title of National Senior Arts and Crafts Artist and earned a Master’s degree in Marketing from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
A young distinguished embroidery artist and the fifth-generation orthodox inheritor of Random Stitch Embroidery, she holds the title of National Senior Arts and Crafts Artist and earned a Master’s degree in Marketing from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Her social roles include Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Suzhou Huqiu District, Member of the District Youth Federation and Executive Director of the Suzhou Embroidery Association. She also worked as a contributing editor for the book Sailing Across the Art Realm (ISBN: 978-7-5344-8322-6). Her two-layer installation embroidery Scenery of Taihu Lake has been collected by the National Art Museum of China.Dedicated to international cultural exchanges, she was invited to showcase and promote Suzhou Embroidery at the Chinese Embassy in the United States. In March 2026, during the session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, she attended the 70th session of the Commission at UN Headquarters in New York. She has also been a guest at the Japanese Diet, and presented her works at the World Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition at the Louvre in Paris and London Craft Week, introducing the timeless allure of Suzhou Embroidery to the world. Her distinctive embroidery style was hailed as "Flowing Stitches" by Marie Claire China. Additionally, she was the first artist worldwide to publicly demonstrate the exquisite craft of Double-sided Triple-variant Embroidery.She has received numerous honors: Outstanding Young Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent of Jiangsu Silk Industry, Winner of Suzhou National Model Woman Worker and Suzhou May 1st Labor Medal, Top Young Cultural Talent of Suzhou High-tech Zone, and Rising Star of the "Three-leading Talents" among Jiangsu Provincial Rural Professionals. In 2016, she represented China at the Craft Exchange Conference held alongside the BRICS Summit in India.
Liu Mei
Liu Mei is a dedicated artisan and recognized inheritor of the traditional Chinese Velvet Flower Craft, a representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Jiangsu Province. With years of experience devoted to preserving this centuries-old art form, she continues to breathe new life into one of China's most refined handcrafted traditions.
Zheng Shanshan and Liu Mei
District-level inheritor of the Ronghua making technique, a representative intangible cultural heritage project of Jiangsu Province
In the 1980s, the overall environment for ronghua (velvet flower) was already in decline, but in Jiangdu District, the birthplace of Yangzhou ronghua, the strong atmosphere of making ronghua had not yet faded, and households in the neighborhood all made ronghua. When she was in school, Liu Mei’s school was right next to a ronghua factory. Every day after school, she would immediately run to the factory to watch the masters make ronghua. Even as a child, she was fascinated by the unique shapes and brilliant colors of ronghua and wanted to try her hand.
From the age of 15, Liu Mei learned the craft of making the tips of ronghua from a master. Three years later, she began studying the full set of ronghua production techniques at the Zhenjiang Heping Arts and Crafts Factory, where she was assigned to the sample room to handle sample design and production. New ronghua products such as tigers, lions, horses, and chicks were sold to markets at home and abroad. “Creative inspiration mostly comes from life—every flower and blade of grass, birds and beasts… and then further transformation and innovation based on that.” Liu Mei uses smooth lines and delicate techniques to depict figures, plants, and animals. The lively forms, well-balanced color gradations, and appropriate composition complement each other, reflecting refined craftsmanship. “Even the lion’s whiskers are made by twisting tiny strips of velvet.”
The birth of a ronghua flower is the condensation of ingenuity and craftsmanship. Every step of the ronghua process cannot be replaced by machines and especially requires patience and care. Dyeing, splitting the velvet, softening brass wire, attaching strips, shaping the tips, assembling the flower… only when each step is properly handled can the overall effect of the ronghua be harmonious and unified. “It takes three days to make a ronghua with a diameter of 10 centimeters, not including the preparatory work.”
In the 1990s, many local ronghua factories in Yangzhou were dissolved. Liu Mei and her husband, who was engaged in ronghua sales, discussed and acquired the Jiangdu Velvet Crafts Factory, whose business had sharply declined at the time, and later renamed it Yangzhou Zhengcheng Velvet Crafts Co., Ltd. The couple turned their attention to overseas markets, focusing on Western festival culture, selling one million “Easter” velvet chicks every year.
For thirty years, scissors and tweezers have almost never left Liu Mei’s hands. She set up a workbench at home, and even when the factory was on holiday, she would “indulge herself” at home, turning her imaginative ideas step by step into ronghua works. However, constrained by an increasingly shrinking market, and like many intangible cultural heritage skills, ronghua is also facing a situation where the craft is endangered and there are no successors. How to pass down Yangzhou ronghua craftsmanship is the most important matter Liu Mei keeps deep in her heart.
Rooted in techniques passed down through generations, Liu Mei's work reflects the harmony of patience, precision, and artistic expression. Every velvet flower is meticulously shaped by hand, transforming delicate silk and traditional materials into timeless floral creations that embody both cultural heritage and contemporary elegance.
Through her collaboration with Sinocrafted, Liu Mei shares the beauty of traditional Chinese craftsmanship with a global audience, allowing these handcrafted blooms to become not only ornaments, but also enduring symbols of artistry, history, and cultural connection.
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