Su embroiderer Chen Bixian works on a Su Embroidery artwork. [Photo/WeChat account: sh-jiading]

After an application by Chen Bixian, a young embroiderer born in Shanghai's Jiading district, Su Embroidery was listed as a Jiading district intangible cultural heritage item in November 2021.

Though born in the 1990s, Chen is an experienced Su embroiderer who has practiced Su Embroidery for over 20 years.

Su Embroidery, which originated in East China's Suzhou, has a history of over 2,500 years. Su Embroidery requires extensive study of needlework and aesthetics. An embroidery work takes months or even years to complete, and requires an extremely high level of skill and patience.

Chen seeks inspiration in Qiuxiapu Garden, a classical garden in Shanghai, as well as through the paintings of renowned Chinese painter Lu Yanshao. She learned various traditional embroidery skills from famous embroiderers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and created her own unique embroidery stitches.

In order to preserve and promote Su Embroidery, Chen organized a series of courses on Su Embroidery handmade crafts at the Jiading Museum. She also showcased Su Embroidery crafts in the yard of the Jiading Fahua Pagoda in June, 2020, which attracted a large number of people.

In addition to promoting the art within the district, Chen also carried out lessons on Su Embroidery at Donghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and exhibited her artworks in Yuyuan Garden and the Shanghai Library. Her artworks were once displayed at the China International Import Expo, helping to promote the traditional art to the world.

Chen has also integrated Su Embroidery into daily commodities such as the traditional tuanshan, or round fans, wallets, mirrors, handkerchiefs, and masks, which are popular among young people.