In recent years, with the targeted assistance from China Merchants Bank, the Yi embroidery industry in Wuding County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, has flourished. Since the initiation of the support program, China Merchants Bank has identified Yi embroidery as a crucial pathway for preserving ethnic culture, promoting rural revitalization, and increasing local incomes. Through a series of innovative measures, the bank has built a solid bridge for the growth of Yi embroidery talent, allowing the millennia-old craft to shine brightly in the new era.
Special Funding and System Building: Laying the Foundation for Talent Cultivation Since beginning its targeted assistance in Wuding County, China Merchants Bank has invested a cumulative total of 880,000 yuan in special funds for Yi embroidery talent cultivation, representing the core proportion of the industry's support funds and providing a solid financial guarantee for talent development.
Addressing the three major pain points of the Yi embroidery industry—"talent gap, conservative techniques, and difficulty accessing markets"—China Merchants Bank innovatively established a "four-tier inheritance,梯队培育 echelon cultivation" system. By coordinating multiple resources, it formed a unique cultivation model characterized by "CMB funding, government platform-building, master artisans teaching, and market orientation," ensuring that training precisely meets the practical needs of rural communities. Over the past three years, the bank has directly supported the organization of more than 70 various Yi embroidery training sessions, benefiting over 5,000 embroiderers and successfully creating new employment opportunities for more than 500 rural women and returning youth.
In the "Master Inheritance Class" in Misanzha Village, Maojie Town, Pu Yuzhen, a national inheritor of Yi costume artistry, teaches embroidery needle techniques to her students. This master artisan, who began learning embroidery at age three and opened Wuding's first Yi embroidery shop in 1982, was once deeply anxious about the difficulty of passing on traditional techniques. Funding from China Merchants Bank significantly expanded the scale of her training. She now teaches using a 21-meter-long scroll, "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," which she embroidered over seven and a half years using silk threads dyed with self-made plant dyes. Through a mentorship mechanism of "passing on, helping, and guiding," she has imparted more than 150 endangered techniques to over 300 trainees. Pu Yuzhen remarked emotionally, "China Merchants Bank helped us build a standardized training classroom. Now I have over 2,000 disciples, with more than 1,000 in long-term cooperation. Everyone can support their families with their skills."
Na Jufen, an embroiderer from the Hongtutian community in Shishan Town, had previously given up migrant work to care for her children, facing the dilemma of "not being able to earn money while looking after the family." After a community-based Yi embroidery poverty-alleviation workshop, supported by China Merchants Bank, was established, she participated in training, starting from basic stitches. She now earns a stable additional income of over 3,000 yuan per month. Zhang Xiaoyan, a post-95s embroiderer from Bailu Town, transformed from a "migrant worker" into a "technical expert" through specialized paper-cut embroidery training, earning a monthly income exceeding 3,000 yuan.
Innovative Platforms and Practical Empowerment: Paving the Fast Track for Talent Growth To ensure that cultivated talent has a place to apply their skills, China Merchants Bank innovatively launched a practical empowerment model of "promoting learning through competition and honing skills through orders." Aligning with Wuding's distinctive "peony culture" and the practical production needs of embroiderers, the bank has exclusively sponsored the "Hundred Embroiderers Embroider Peonies" Yi embroidery skills competition for four consecutive years. Each spring, in the peony garden on Lion Mountain, over 200 embroiderers dressed in traditional attire compete on the same stage, showcasing traditional techniques and innovative works that integrate modern aesthetics. Outstanding selected works are directly incorporated into China Merchants Bank's customized gift procurement list, allowing talent value to be quickly monetized.
Addressing the pain point of "knowing how to make but not how to sell," starting in 2023, China Merchants Bank specially created the "Yi Embroidery E-commerce Empowerment Program," selecting 40 key embroiderers for an intensive three-month training course. Li Ruiyin, a local Wuding girl long fascinated by Yi embroidery, learned account operation, product photography, and live-streaming skills through the training. She registered Douyin accounts named "Hua Yi Shang" and "Ling Dang Dang," combining heirloom embroidery pieces from her grandmother with fashionable designs. Her clothing items have been featured at Milan Fashion Week and Chuxiong Fashion Week, with the most expensive set selling for over 30,000 yuan. Her products are sold as far as the UK, Thailand, and Myanmar, achieving annual sales of 800,000 yuan. Li Ruiyin said excitedly, "I never imagined old embroidery pieces could sell so far away. Through the e-commerce training, I now also lead over 20 other young women in doing e-commerce, and everyone is earning money with their skills."
Furthermore, China Merchants Bank integrated funds to build the Wuding Yi Embroidery Museum,配套 supporting 11 industrial workshops and 42 embroidery studios, providing embroiderers with a "entrepreneurship headquarters" for training, exhibition, and order reception right at their doorstep. The "Xiongguan Yi Embroidery Association," led by Pu Yuzhen, has absorbed over 1,300 embroiderer members with the bank's support. Guo Xiaoyan, President of the Wuding County Yi Embroidery Association and an embroiderer herself, has spearheaded the fulfillment of Yi embroidery "mystery bag" orders promoted by China Merchants Bank since 2020. The bank's "consumption-based poverty alleviation" project alone has helped members earn 1.2 million yuan. Guo Xiaoyan also innovatively launched Yi embroidery DIY hands-on experience activities, attracting enthusiastic participation from numerous organizations, schools, and training institutions. By 2025, 22 sessions had been conducted, involving nearly 600 participants to widespread acclaim. Parent He Weiwei commented, "Bringing the children here to experience our Wuding Yi embroidery has been fantastic. The kids are very interested. They can not only participate in creating intangible cultural heritage handicrafts but also increase their understanding and knowledge of traditional culture. It's wonderful!"
Platform Construction and Resource Connection: Broadening New Horizons for Talent Development To connect Wuding's Yi embroidery talent with higher-level markets, China Merchants Bank proactively built open cooperation platforms, facilitating deep connections between talent, universities, and enterprises. Through this series of measures, Yi embroidery talent in Wuding has gained broader development space, and the industry has welcomed new opportunities for growth.
Today, with the continuous support of China Merchants Bank, the Yi embroidery industry in Wuding County is thriving, and the talent pool is continually expanding. The millennia-old skill of Yi embroidery is radiating new vitality and energy in the hands of a new generation of embroiderers, becoming a powerful "talent engine" for rural revitalization. In the future, China Merchants Bank will continue to deepen its assistance measures, helping Wuding Yi embroidery reach broader stages and injecting a continuous stream of momentum into rural revitalization.
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