Almost every woman of the Li ethnic group will inherit pieces of Li Brocade with various patterns from their mother early on in life. As they grow up, they learn and imitate these patterns in their own weaving, eventually developing their own understanding and, years later, passing them on to their own daughters (and, increasingly, sons).

The patterns, representing various facets of Li culture, have been transmitted seamlessly from one generation to the next over a period spanning more than 3,000 years. As they have woven their way across history, they have retained the traces of the past while being infused with new elements.

Like many Li weavers, Tan Chaoyan inherited her first patterns from her mother. On March 11, her mother's patterns hit the world stage as they were worn down the catwalk by legendary supermodel Marie-Sophie Wilson-Karl at the Campus des Cordeliers at the heart of Paris, France, as part of Véronique Leroy's 2025-2026 Fall/Winter Li Brocade Master Collaboration Series at Paris Fashion Week.

This marked the first appearance of Li brocade at Paris Fashion Week after UNESCO transferred "Traditional Li Textile Techniques: Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving, and Embroidery" from the "List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding List" to the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity."

Almost 10,000 km lie between Hainan's Wuzhishan, where these ancient patterns originate, and Paris. Yet it is these very patterns that have brought fresh inspiration to internationally renowned designer Véronique Leroy, who has blended Li Brocade's heritage with more modern artistic integrations, bridging geographic and cultural gaps.

Li Brocade is hailed as a "living fossil" in the history of Chinese textiles. Its traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidery techniques have been passed down for over 3,000 years, embodying immense historical and cultural value, as well as the essence of craftsmanship. It reflects the national character of China's excellent traditional culture and the universality of humanity's intangible cultural heritage.

The "leveling-up" by UNESCO of these techniques signifies that rather than facing extinction, their transmission now boasts a robust foundation thanks to unremitting efforts by all sectors of Hainan society to ensure their protection and development.

Since 2006, representative inheritors of Hainan's traditional Li textile techniques have been conducting teaching activities in schools, communities, and villages through the "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Schools" program. Over 20,000 students in the province now have some grasp of the techniques. By the end of 2024, there were more than 470 representative inheritors across nine of Hainan's cities and counties.

The Li brocade patterns that graced Paris Fashion Week are a walking landscape of Hainan. Behind the fusion of profound history and culture lies the rebirth of an ancient art.