Suzhou Embroidery

Suzhou embroidery is a traditional handicraft originating from Suzhou, China, with a history of more than 2,500 years. The materials used in Suzhou embroidery are natural silk threads. Suzhou embroidery works, created through the combination of ingenious craftsmanship and skill, have been highly sought after by all sectors of society since ancient times due to their main characteristics of being exquisite, delicate, elegant, and clean. Because of its strong artistic expressiveness and extremely high technical difficulty, only a very small number of people could own and use Suzhou embroidery products in ancient China. The dragon robes and phoenix coronets of ancient Chinese royal families were mostly embroidered using the techniques of Suzhou embroidery. 

Embroidery Workstation (Frame and Bench)

Across dynasties and cultural shifts, Suzhou Embroidery has left distinct imprints on China's artistic lineage, serving as vivid documentation of each era's defining characteristics. Its motifs, techniques, and chromatic arrangements remain inextricably linked to the artistic sensibilities, social dynamics, and spiritual philosophies of their respective periods. What has remained unchanged over the past 25 centuries is the pure craftsmanship of the Suzhou embroidery artisans. 

In 1911, Shen Shou's Suzhou embroidery work "Portrait of Queen Elena of Italy" won the first-class award at the Italy Universal Exposition, which made Suzhou Embroidery famous worldwide.

Splitting silk thread, one of the techniques used in Suzhou embroidery, is also being showcased during the Jiangsu Week as a signature skill.

Nowadays, in the process of inheritance and development, its artistic expressiveness, technical level, and forms of expression have all been further enhanced. The functions and application scenarios of Suzhou embroidery are also continually being enriched through innovative inheritance. In the new era, the modes of preservation and innovation of Suzhou Embroidery have diversified exponentially — strategies such as digital conservation, avant-garde design reinterpretations, and cross over integration continue to emerge, propelling its creative transformation and innovative evolution within global textile traditions. 

Yao Silk, a brand in Suzhou embroidery created by Master Yao Jianping, has crossed over with BMW and Honor of Kings.

Yao Yuehua, a disciple of Master Yao Jianping, has contributed greatly to the transformation of the Yao Embroidery IP. She is representing this time-honored art at the "Millennia-Old Canal, Charm of Jiangsu" exhibition during the Jiangsu Week.