In the heart of Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, artisan Meng Lulu is turning leather into living art 🌟. As a city-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, she's spent over a decade perfecting leather carving—a craft blending vibrant Uygur culture with storytelling.
Meng's workspace buzzes with creativity as she etches intricate floral patterns and symbolic motifs into supple hides. 'Each piece carries our ancestors' wisdom,' she says, tracing a design echoing the Tianshan Mountains and Silk Road heritage 🏔️🍇.
Her journey hasn’t been easy—modernization nearly erased this tradition. But through workshops and collaborations, Meng now mentors younger crafters, proving ancient skills can thrive in the digital age ✂️📱. Recent exhibitions across China have spotlighted her work as a bridge between generations and cultures.
What’s next? Meng dreams of interactive digital archives to preserve centuries-old techniques. For travelers exploring Xinjiang, her studio offers hands-on workshops—because cultural preservation can be as tactile as leather itself ✨.
