Ke Cuiling (R) instructs a woman to make traditional costumes.

The boundless grasslands have no doubt impressed countless visitors — from all over the world —  to Sunan Yugur Autonomous County and Huangnibao Township (both in Northwest China's Gansu Province), which are homes to the Yugurs. But have you ever noticed the carvings on handbags, wallets, sashes and other leather accessories, which have sold well in the county and township? The patterns, such as flowers and auspicious legendary animals, of the carvings on the leather items, symbolize high position, great wealth and longevity. The craft of creating leather carvings has been added to the list of Gansu's municipal intangible cultural heritage.

Leather carvings, especially those on luxury goods, have been popular with people the world over for a millennium. Countless people have been fascinated by the exquisitely engraved patterns on leather items, including saddles, armor and quivers (for arrows), created during the past dynasties.

As the Yugurs depend on animal husbandry for their livelihoods, the carvings on their leather production tools and daily necessities embody the traditional cultural elements of their ethnic group.

During ancient times, the Yugurs drew maps and carved patterns on sheepskin. More recently, Yugur craftspeople have been carving patterns on cowhides. The carvings have looked like "soft relief* sculptures." To their nomadic forebears, the modern Yugur craftspeople's level of artistry would have been unthinkable. The ancient leather artisans made crude leather sandals, belts and other tools for survival.

During the past millennium, Yugur craftspeople have created numerous exquisite leather carvings, which have had tremendous aesthetic value. Moreover, as the unique art form embodies the Yugurs' traditional philosophical, aesthetic, literary and artistic ideologies, the carvings have high historical and cultural value.

When you marvel at the unique beauty of the leather carvings, you might not be aware of how much effort the craftspeople devoted to making the items. Creating leather carvings involves several complicated procedures, including processing the leather, designing the artworks, carving various beautiful patterns (including landscapes, figures, animals and flowers) on tanned leather, shaping and painting.

Ke Cuiling, 57, is a native of Sunan Yugur Autonomous County. She is both a State-level inheritor of the craft of making Yugurs' costumes and adornments, and she is a provincial-level inheritor of the craft of creating leather carvings. She has been creating the crafts for more than 30 years.

In 1984, Ke began working in Sunan Cultural Center. Within a short time, she discovered few young people were willing to study Yugurs' traditional crafts, including creating leather carvings and making Yugurs' costumes and adornments. Why? It took a lot of effort and the craftsmen received very little pay for their crafts. To keep the intangible cultural heritage alive, Ke during the past three decades has studied the craft-making skills from many skilled Yugur craftspeople.

Since Ke retired from the center, in 2005, she has invested more time and energy in promoting Yugurs' traditional crafts. In May 2015, she established a 1,000-square-meter "cultural village," which is composed of restaurants, exhibition halls and teaching halls (in which skilled craftspeople teach apprentices craft- making skills) . So far, more than 300 people have been studying how to create embroideries, paper-cuts, leather carvings and other crafts in the "village." The "village" not only offers (for free) training to individuals who are interested in the crafts, it also provides a monthly subsidy of 300 yuan (US $45) to them.

Ke displays, in the "village's" exhibition halls, 1,000-plus items, including saddles, sheathes and copper fire pans used by the ancient Yugurs, which she has collected during the past 40 years.
"Now that many of the Yugurs' traditional crafts are beginning to wane, we should strive to promote these art forms by encouraging rural residents to create crafts. I hope more visitors, from home and abroad, will have a better understanding of Yugurs' traditional culture through the exquisite antiques displayed in our exhibition halls," says Ke.