Jinxi County of Guangxi Province is a place of unique karst topography and is an ideal destination for traveling, sightseeing and vacation. It is the "hometown of Xiuqiu" in China. The Xiuqiu artistry in the "hometown of Xiuqiu" was listed as an item of the Chinese non-material Cultural Heritage last year.

Xiuqiu is a handcraft made by people of the Zhuang ethnic group and passed widely through the generations. The skilled craft, rough style, colorful shade and harmonious composition not only carry the deep historical memories of the Zhuang people, but also embody the unique aesthetic attitudes and unadorned ethnic beliefs of the Zhuang People.

More than 1,000 years ago, Liu Zongyuan, the poet of the Tang dynasty, left a line saying "Boys and girls playing the ball joyously"

The tale of Xiuqiu in the Zhuang people

Long long ago, there was a poor family living in the town of Jiuzhou, Jinxi county. The son of the poor family A Di fell in love with the girl, A Xiu, at the neighbor village.

One spring, when A Xiu was going to the market, she was spotted by a rich and powerful bad young man. This bad guy wanted to marry A Xiu, however A Xiu did not agree even for the sake of her life. When the young man found out A Xiu was deeply in love with A Di in the neighbor village, in order to make A Xiu forget A Di, he bribed the local official who charged the death penalty on A Di on groundless reasons and put him in prison to await the punishment in autumn.

When the news came to A Xiu, she cried her eyes blind. She started to sew a Xiuqiu for A Di stitch after stitch. The needle pierced her finger and blood started to flow over the Xiuqiu. When soaked by the blood, the flowers, grass and birds on the Xiuqiu were more vivid than before. After 81 days, the Xiuqiu which was filled with A Xiu's love for A Di and soaked in A Xiu's blood was completed.

She bribed the warden of the prison with all of her money which came from selling her jewelry and deposits at home. In the company of her families, she visited A Di, whom she missed day and night in the cold and dark prison. When she saw A Di was tortured to a living skeleton, she was desperate and she hung the Xiuqiu across A Di's neck.

At this point, a miraculous light flashed and A Xiu, A Di and her families disappeared. When they awoke, they found themselves at a beautiful and rich land at the foot of a mountain, far away from the villains. Later, A Di and A Xiu got married and they gave birth to one boy and one girl. After their hard work, they lived happily ever after.

The origin of Xiuqiu

The history of Xiuqiu can date back to over 2,000 years ago, when the object used for casting, the "feituo", was an old musical instrument made of bronze. The instrument was also used in war and hunting. Later on, "feituo" gradually became the present embroidered ball, namely Xiiuqiu.

After tea or a meal, people throw and catch it for fun in order to maintain the friendly relationship. Early in the Tang dynasty, it was so popular that poet Liu Zongyuan left a famous line -- "Boys and girls playing the ball joyously". Zhou Qufei of the Song dynasty also wrote down in the Answer from Beyond the Ridges: Every March 3 or Spring Festival, girls and boys of the Zhuang people will come to hold a ceremony for throwing Xiuqiu. The Xiuqiu acted as a medium and many girls and boys became couples. Throwing Xiuqiu is still a well-welcomed item of traditional sports games. Nowadays Xiuqiu has not only acted as a gift for relatives and friends, but also as decorations at home and gift companies used for propaganda and public relations.

How to make?

1. Starching cloths--Use paste to starch four pieces of cotton cloth flatly, then stick silk clothes of different colors onto the backer; Then make petals. Generally, Jinxi Xiuqiu is made up of 12 petals -- one ball regardless of its size.

2. Embroider on the petals. It is an important step and usually the smaller the Xiuqiu, the simpler the patterns on the Xiuqiu will be; the bigger the Xiuqiu, the more complex and vivid the patterns on the Xiuqiu will be. It is said that except for the four patterns in the middle, in which the chosen of the patterns is not restricted, for the others the upper four petals have to use birds flying in the sky; the bottom four petals have to use beasts walking in the ground. For Xiuqiu whose diameter is less than 6cm, every women in Jiujie town can draw a pattern themselves. However, if the diameter is more than 8cm, such as 12cm, 20cm or even big Xiuqiu like 1m or 2m, the patterns and shades of color have to first be drawn by a person who is good at drawing and then others can copy according to it.