FIFA licenses Ningxia's hemp-weave craft

"If you stick rigidly to the old forms, young people won't buy them," Zhang said. "But if you lose the traditional technique altogether, there's nothing left to pass on. The rule is to preserve the ancient method, but let the design evolve."

She has made a deliberate shift from "display pieces" to "daily necessities". Her designs now favor smaller, functional items: phone bags, pendants, keychains and small accessories that blend traditional weaving techniques with contemporary tastes.

To bring these daily necessities to life, Zhang developed a production model that mirrors her designs. Over nine years, she has built a distributed production system with a hub in Yinchuan's Xixia district.

Her team collaborates with workshops in several nearby villages and communities. Each site is responsible for a different stage of production: some focus on rough processing, while others handle final assembly. Training is held regularly to ensure quality and consistency.

Thousands of villagers have been trained over the years. Several hundred people now take regular orders, with around 100 in stable employment. Most are left-behind women caring for elderly parents or young grandchildren.

This model of rooting in the countryside and empowering women not only changed the lives of villagers, but also brought Baniao Hemp Weave into a broader spotlight.