AI × Miao Embroidery: when threads learn to dream

In Guizhou's Qiandongnan, the craft of embroidery is undergoing an evolution. Once, a single Miao embroidery piece could take months—even years—to complete. Now, with the help of AI and digital modeling, traditional stitch patterns, colors, and textures are being preserved as data and translated into algorithmic language. Designers can preview each stitch digitally, allowing artisans' techniques to live on and expand beyond their hands.

The embroidered A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains is a result of this fusion. AI-assisted modeling transformed a flat painting into a landscape of shimmering threads — where gold, silver, and silk fibers bring the artwork to life under light.

Another design, The Girl in the Mountains, reimagines traditional Miao motifs through a fashion-forward lens. By extracting and redesigning embroidery patterns from traditional garments, the piece bridges heritage and modern style.

Technology doesn't replace craftsmanship — it redefines it. Here in the mountains of Guizhou, AI has become another "needle" in Miao embroidery: weaving the past into the future.