A young engineer blends traditional Hong'an handloom cloth with modern design, helping revive an intangible cultural heritage craft.

Hong'an handloom cloth, a traditional coarse textile native to Hong'an county in central China's Hubei province, was once seen as old-fashioned and rustic.

Today, however, this once-overlooked fabric has stepped into the spotlight. In 2024, it made a striking appearance at China Fashion Week, symbolizing a shift from its humble origins to a modern fashion statement.

Driving this revival is Tao Wencheng, a 34-year-old graduate of Wuhan Textile University with a degree in mechanical engineering.

That momentum has continued. On Jan 6, 2026, Tao launched a pilot industrialization base for Hong'an handloom cloth under an intangible cultural heritage project. The base is currently the largest of its kind among Hubei's ICH fabric-industry initiatives and is expected to begin operations in May.

But it took courage for him, as a man, to step into a craft long dominated by women.