When felt is more than carpet: It's a nation's epic poem

Across the grasslands of Kyrgyzstan and China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the earth becomes a canvas – and felt-making, a cultural cipher. Ala-kiyiz uses wet-felting to naturally blend colors, while Shyrdak stitches geometric patterns from layered felt. These traditional crafts – used for carpets, yurt decor and ceremonial items – are rich with symbols of animals, nature and spiritual belief. Both were inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2012.

In China, Mongolian felt-making is more than tradition – it's a foundation for architecture, clothing and daily life. Passed down through generations, its patterns carry the totems of nomadic culture and motifs drawn from the natural world. Today, these techniques are preserved and revitalized through China's intangible cultural heritage protection system.

A single felt rug holds half of nomadic history. As the north wind sweeps across the Pamirs and Hulunbuir, these wool-felted cultural codes still whisper in the breeze.