Last weekend 24 students began learning a unique craft that is one of Shanghai's special art forms. If they continue to learn and practice, Gaoqiao's special wool embroidery will have at least a chance at surviving.

Gaoqiao, in Pudong New Area, is the home of this handicraft that is renowned for its detail, delicacy and colors. Today however the skilled artisans who produce these wonderful embroidered pictures are few. In the township there are now only two municipal-level and four district-level craft masters, a title that reflects their skill and reputation and is awarded by the local labor authorities. Of these six craft masters, the oldest is over 80 years old and the youngest is approaching 40. Few locals are interested in taking up the craft.

The town has taken steps to protect the craft in recent years. In 2009, the Gaoqiao Wool Embroidery Museum was open to display the history and examples of the embroidery, encouraging people to learn about it. To date 38,000 visitors have looked over the museum. The embroidery has been named a national intangible cultural heritage and has been given funding by the government.

Unlike other kinds of embroidery like Shanghai's famous Gu embroidery, the wool needlepoint work of Gaoqiao embroidery is characterized by bold lines drawn by vividly colored wool. While the European styles originated in Italy, this embroidery came to China after the Opium War in 1840. At the beginning of the 20th century Catholic nuns in Xuhui district taught embroidery to locals who went on to combine this with traditional methods and created the unique style.

A Chinese first

In 1918, Yang Hongkui, a businessman from today's Pudong New Area, became the first Chinese to sell woolen embroidery to foreign companies and he started classes to teach more locals the handicraft.

Wang Yixiang, a senior official with the cultural administration of Gaoqiao town, told the Global Times that after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, nearly every family in Gaoqiao was involved in embroidery. "Even school students helped after class by dying the yarn to make a few cents to help support their families," he said.

At that time, the Oriental Embroidery Factory, the largest in the town, was still open. It employed about 400 residents, but many more people worked there. "Nearly all the product was exported. The business was so good that work had to be sent to rural areas of nearby provinces like Anhui. At the peak about 20,000 people were involved in the embroidery business," Wang said. 

He Dongmei, a local who has been embroidering for nearly two decades, said there were two sorts of embroidery - embroidered pieces for everyday use like socks, and the exceptional tapestries which were works of art. "It was easy for people to make the ordinary pieces. A rose pattern 16 centimeters long and 12 centimeters wide would take no more than three days to make."

A lengthy procedure

But a beautiful tapestry could take eight months to create because it needed a lot more colors and detail. A large 1-square-meter work could need up to 1,000 different colored yarns. And the yarns sometimes had to be divided or combined. A work this size needs at least 1.50 kilograms of wool, or 2,928 threads.

The hardest works are portraits, He said. These need to be created with subtle colors and very fine threads. There is a good example in the Gaoqiao Wool Embroidery Museum where a portrait of an old peasant is on show, revealing for visitors the intricate details of the work.

The soaring cost of labor has apparently brought the industry to the verge of extinction. The once proud Oriental Embroidery factory closed in the 1990s. Then many of the skilled workers turned to other industries to make a living. Now there are a few small factories in the township but they are struggling. Like the few residents who embroider from their homes.

"Some workers can only earn about 10 yuan ($1.58) a day," said Shi Wei, the curator of the Gaoqiao Wool Embroidery Museum.

Another worker said that embroidered Christmas socks were popular with Westerners but they were sold for just 50 yuan. "That leaves little profit for something that takes a worker three days to make."