Embroiderer Feng Li. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Feng Li, an embroiderer in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, has dedicated about 40 years to embroidery.

"If I have the chance to choose my life again, I would also learn about Shen embroidery," said 64-year-old Feng Li, who started learning Shen embroidery when she was 19 years old.

Feng said that embroidery is actually a hard job and it is impossible to be involved in it without perseverance and stability.

An embroidery work about an opera performer. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

For example, a simple piece of embroidery about peonies usually requires at least seven to eight months to be completed. The embroiderer said that different stitches and different colors of threads will be employed to present the peonies vividly.

What Feng feels most satisfied is that she participated in making the embroidery work about the family portray of the King of Belgium, which was presented as a national gift to the King.

An embroidery work about a rabbit. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Feng and other embroiderers of Shen embroidery are all faced with the problem of how to pass the skills on.

Feng revealed that she plans to embroider some works with more distinctive characteristics in hope of attracting more young people to pay attention to the traditional craft.

Shen embroidery, created by a famous embroidery master Shen Shou (1874-1921), features more soft hues and vivid images than Su embroidery, and in 2008 it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item.