Intl guests dive into Baoting’s living cultural heritage

On May 30, guests participating in the Nihao China: European Travel Media and Influencers' Hainan Tour visited the Binglanggu Li and Miao Cultural Heritage Park in Baoting.

A foreign guest dances in Li ethnic costume. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Baoting, located in the central-southern part of Hainan province, is home to tropical rainforests, hot springs and a pleasant climate. With forest coverage exceeding 84 percent, mild winters and cool summers, it is one of Hainan's most well-known ecological wellness destinations.

Beyond its exceptional ecological resources, the area also preserves a wealth of Li ethnic cultural heritage, including Li brocade weaving, boat-shaped dwellings and the ancient skill of fire-making by friction. Binglanggu is one of the most representative cultural experience sites among them.

The Li ethnic group is one of the earliest indigenous peoples of Hainan Island, and their traditions of cotton spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery have a history of several thousand years. In 2024, the "Li Ethnic Traditional Techniques of Cotton Textile, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidery" was transferred from UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In a covered corridor, several Li grandmothers sat at their looms, colorful cotton threads weaving back and forth between their fingers as pieces of Li brocade slowly took shape. From raw material processing to the weaving craft itself, the site offers a systematic display of the entire Li brocade production process.

Most striking of all were the facial tattoos on the grandmothers' faces. This is an ancient tattooing technique in which the skin is pierced with a needle and natural dye is applied, allowing the pigment to settle beneath the skin and form permanent blue or black patterns. Because the technique resembles embroidery on cloth, it is known as "embroidered face". This ancient custom was long a part of the culture of some Li subgroups. With the impact of modern civilization, the Li facial tattoo tradition has since been discontinued. Today, even elders who still bear these markings are extremely rare.

On the day, UK blogger John Michael Chapman dressed in traditional Li costume and had his photo taken in front of a boat-shaped dwelling.

Irish blogger Tariq Sawyer developed a keen interest in the cultural stories behind the Li handicrafts. He said that perhaps a single piece takes days, weeks or even months to complete, but behind it lies thousands of years of history and the wisdom of daily life. He then followed a Li grandmother to learn a few simple phrases in the Li language.

The large-scale immersive performance "Binglang Ancient Rhythms" that day brought together traditional cultural elements including fire-making by friction, facial tattooing, the planting of shanlan rice and the wooden-stick dance. The stories on stage echoed the real scenes in the village, making those once-abstract cultural symbols vivid and alive.

The immersive performance “Binglang Ancient Rhythms” showcases traditional Li culture. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As the guests left Binglanggu, many took with them the woven pieces they had made that day with their own hands. Some planned to keep them as personal mementos; others intended to give them to family members as gifts. These small handicrafts became special souvenirs of their time in Hainan.