Stitch for tradition

When Luo Xiaofeng misses home, he likes to count the number of stitches on the thick shoe-pads made by his mother and Qiang villagers in Sichuan province.

Luo, 33, started his small business on Gulou Dajie five years ago. It is a handicrafts store full of hand-embroidered artwork.

"Women in our village are expert at needlework," he says. "Cloth shoes and shoe soles, worn by family members in all seasons, were usually made by them."