Skillfully-made Yantai woolen embroidery [Photo/Xianjingyantai.com]

The 2013 China (Yantai) Folk Artifacts Exhibition was held in Yantai, Shandong province during October 18-20, 2013. Folk artists from 26 provinces and cities in China and 11 foreign countries or regions, including Laos and Vietnam, brought their exquisite art works to the port city and delivered an artistic feast to Yantai people. Among them were many indigenous art works from Yantai, woolen embroidery being an especially impressive one.

Skillfully-made Yantai woolen embroidery Woolen embroidery is a special handicraft, made by sewing patterns on linen cloth with wool of various colors. Its history can be traced back to over 2,000 years ago in China. It was brought from Xinjiang to China’s central plain and coastal regions in the Qin-Han Period (221 BC-AD 221). In modern times, it was in Yantai that woolen embroidery became popular.

On January 5, 2012, the awarding ceremony of the 10th China Folk Art “Mountain Flower Award” was held in Haikou, Hainan province. Two jewels of Shandong folk art, Yantai woolen embroidery and Jiaodong paper-cutting, won “Mountain Flower Awards”, the top folk art award in China. In its development spanning over a century, Yantai woolen embroidery has integrated traditional Chinese stitching skills and European styles, developing its own distinct characteristics.