Good news from the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting currently taking place in Asunción, Paraguay! The traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering has left UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Why is this good news? Because it means that ongoing efforts by the provincial government and local governments in Hainan to preserve this valuable part of local ethnic culture are succeeding.

Now on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, these traditional Li textile techniques, primarily practiced by the women of Hainan's endemic Li ethnic group, have—since being inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List in 2009—been gaining increasing recognition around China and the world.

In the 15 years since this ancient craft was recognized by UNESCO as being in need of safeguarding to its being transferred to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, what changes have happened in how it is being passed down, protected, and developed? The four posters below should give you a basic overview.