Weaving new life into an old art

ENSHI, Hubei - Liu Weixiang stretches thread for the loom by hand with one end of the threads fastened to posts. Then she plaits the threads like hairs.

Sheep horns are used as needles to separate the threads before she runs them through the loom to form the background warp. She cuts and combines the threads to reflect the designs in her mind.

The wooden shuttle moves quickly and with such ease between the threads it looks like part of her nimble hands.