Uniting power of tea leaves and stitches

In a sunlit workshop a group of women bend over embroidered canvases, their needles flashing as their handiwork brings the rugged beauty of desert poplar trees to life.

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Visitors try Changshengchuan's brick tea at a cultural event in Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Xinjiang, in May last year.

The women are in the city of Wujiaqu, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, but the skills they are using come from Fanshi county, Shanxi province, more than 1,860 miles distant.

This cross-cultural exchange is part of a decade-long initiative blending intangible cultural heritage with targeted poverty alleviation, delivering economic power to rural women and reinvigorating cultural traditions dating back centuries.

This drive began when He Zhijian, a fourth-generation master of Jin embroidery from Fanshi, arrived in Wujiaqu under a pairing assistance program.

"Local Xinjiang embroidery was bold and rustic, using wool and thick yarns suited for large items like tapestries, but it lacked the refinement for delicate cultural products," he said.

What makes Fanshi work special is its intricate color gradations, delicate silk threads and highly refined needlework.

While Xinjiang embroidery features bold geometric patterns and vibrant flat color fields, Jin embroidery favors subtle shading, fine detail and pictorial realism, which has often been used for decorative panels, apparel ornamentation and finely crafted cultural objects.