National Register
The National Register
非遗名录
The embroidery portion of China’s national register of intangible cultural heritage. It is the only official numbered list of the embroidery traditions — the thing that English writing on the “four famous embroideries” ultimately rests on — and it exists in Chinese only. Item numbers, rounds, submitting localities and protecting bodies are transcribed here, each with a link to its own page on the register.
One thing to know before reading the table: an item number and a submission are not the same thing. Several submissions can sit under one number — different counties, different rounds, one shared number. Miao embroidery (Ⅶ-22) carries at least five. The table is arranged by submission, with the others under that number given in the entry’s note.
The Four Named Traditions
Su, Xiang, Yue and Shu. The grouping is a modern classification of the crafts trade, not a distinction the register itself makes: on the register these are simply four consecutively numbered items, Ⅶ-18 to Ⅶ-21. Guang and Chao embroidery share the single number Ⅶ-20 — they are two separate submissions under one item, not two items.
Ⅶ-18
苏绣
Sū xiù
Suzhou embroidery
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalitySuzhou, Jiangsu Province
- Protecting body苏州刺绣研究所有限公司
Three further submissions carry the same number: Suzhou embroidery (Wuxi fine-detail work), 2008; Suzhou embroidery (Nantong realist work), 2008; Suzhou embroidery (Yangzhou), 2014.
Ⅶ-19
湘绣
Xiāng xiù
Hunan embroidery
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityChangsha, Hunan Province
- Protecting body长沙市非物质文化遗产保护中心（长沙非物质文化遗产馆）
Ⅶ-20
粤绣（广绣）
Yuè xiù — Guǎng xiù
Yue embroidery (Guangzhou)
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityGuangzhou, Guangdong Province
- Protecting body广州市文化馆（广州市非物质文化遗产保护中心）
A separate submission under Ⅶ-20, alongside Chaozhou embroidery; not a number of its own.
Ⅶ-20
粤绣（潮绣）
Yuè xiù — Cháo xiù
Yue embroidery (Chaozhou)
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityChaozhou, Guangdong Province
- Protecting body潮州市工艺美术研究院
Ⅶ-21
蜀绣
Shǔ xiù
Sichuan embroidery
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityChengdu, Sichuan Province
- Protecting body成都市非物质文化遗产保护中心（成都市非物质文化遗产艺术研究院）
A second submission under the same number was added in 2008 for Yuzhong District, Chongqing.
Other Han Regional Traditions
In register order. Gu family embroidery (Ⅶ-17) is numbered ahead of Suzhou embroidery and is the first embroidery item on the register.
Ⅶ-17
顾绣
Gù xiù
Gu family embroidery
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalitySongjiang District, Shanghai
- Protecting body上海市松江区人文松江活动中心（上海市松江区文化馆、上海市松江区图书馆、上海市松江区文化资源配送中心）
The first embroidery item on the register, numbered ahead of Suzhou embroidery.
Ⅶ-73
瓯绣
Ōu xiù
Wenzhou embroidery
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityWenzhou, Zhejiang Province
- Protecting body温州市工艺美术研究院
“Ou” is the old name for Wenzhou.
Ⅶ-74
汴绣
Biàn xiù
Kaifeng embroidery
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityKaifeng, Henan Province
- Protecting body开封汴绣厂
“Bian” is the old name for Kaifeng, capital of the Northern Song.
Ⅶ-75
汉绣
Hàn xiù
Wuhan embroidery
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityJianghan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province
- Protecting body武汉市江汉区文化馆
The “Han” here is the Han river and the port of Hankou — not the Han dynasty and not the Han ethnicity. Rendered as “Han embroidery” it invites all three confusions.
Ⅶ-77
民间绣活（红安绣活）
Mínjiān xiù huó — Hóng’ān
Folk embroidery (Hong’an)
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHong’an County, Hubei Province
- Protecting body红安县文化馆
“Folk embroidery” is an umbrella number covering several local submissions. Also verified: Chengcheng embroidery (2008, Shaanxi) and ramie-cloth embroidery (2014, Xinyu, Jiangxi). Further records under this number may exist that have not been checked here.
Ⅶ-110
京绣
Jīng xiù
Capital-style embroidery
- Listed2014 fourth round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityDingxing County, Hebei Province
- Protecting body定兴县燕都刺绣工艺品制造有限公司
Worth noting: the register gives the submitting locality as Dingxing County in Hebei, not Beijing. The common rendering “Beijing embroidery” does not match the official record.
Ⅶ-127
发绣（东台发绣）
Fà xiù — Dōngtái
Hair embroidery (Dongtai)
- Listed2021 fifth round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityDongtai, Yancheng, Jiangsu Province
- Protecting body东台市发绣协会
Worked in human hair in place of silk thread.
Ⅶ-127
发绣（温州发绣）
Fà xiù — Wēnzhōu
Hair embroidery (Wenzhou)
- Listed2021 fifth round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityLucheng District, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province
- Protecting body温州市发绣研究所
Ⅶ-128
厦门珠绣
Xiàmén zhū xiù
Xiamen beadwork embroidery
- Listed2021 fifth round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityXiamen, Fujian Province
- Protecting body厦门正人珠绣技艺传习所
Ⅶ-129
鲁绣
Lǔ xiù
Shandong embroidery
- Listed2021 fifth round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityShandong Province
- Protecting body山东省工艺美术协会
Submitted at provincial level rather than by a city or county — unusual on the register, where almost every other embroidery item names a specific locality.
Traditions of the Ethnic Minorities
Miao and Manchu embroidery each carry several submissions on the register — different counties, different rounds, one shared item number. The table lists the records verified page by page; further records under the same number are given in the entry notes.
Ⅶ-22
苗绣（花溪苗绣）
Miáo xiù — Huāxī
Miao embroidery (Huaxi)
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHuaxi District, Guiyang, Guizhou Province
- Protecting body贵阳市花溪区文物保护管理所（贵阳市花溪区非物质文化遗产保护中心）
Several submissions sit under Ⅶ-22. Also verified: Jianhe and Leishan Miao embroidery (both 2006), Kaili (2008 extension) and Taijiang (2011 extension), all in Guizhou. One of the most heavily subdivided embroidery items on the register.
Ⅶ-23
水族马尾绣
Shuǐzú mǎwěi xiù
Sui horsehair embroidery
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalitySandu Sui Autonomous County, Guizhou Province
- Protecting body三都水族自治县非物质文化遗产保护中心
Horsehair is wrapped in silk thread to form a cord, which is then couched onto the cloth.
Ⅶ-24
土族盘绣
Tǔzú pán xiù
Tu coiled embroidery
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHuzhu Tu Autonomous County, Qinghai Province
- Protecting body互助土族自治县文化馆
Not to be confused with pan jin xiu, the couched-gold technique of court dress, which is not a separate item on the register.
Ⅶ-76
羌族刺绣
Qiāngzú cìxiù
Qiang embroidery
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityWenchuan County, Sichuan Province
- Protecting body汶川县文化馆
Ⅶ-78
彝族（撒尼）刺绣
Yízú — Sǎní — cìxiù
Yi embroidery (Sani)
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityShilin Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province
- Protecting body石林彝族自治县阿诗玛文化传承与保护中心（石林彝族自治县阿诗玛文化研究所、石林彝族自治县非物质文化遗产保护中心）
Ⅶ-79
维吾尔族刺绣
Wéiwú’ěrzú cìxiù
Uyghur embroidery
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHami, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
- Protecting body哈密市文化馆
Ⅶ-80
满族刺绣（岫岩满族民间刺绣）
Mǎnzú cìxiù — Xiùyán
Manchu embroidery (Xiuyan)
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityXiuyan Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning Province
- Protecting body岫岩满族自治县文化馆
Two further verified submissions under the same number: Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang (2014) and Ning’an Manchu embroidery (2021). Search results also show Jinzhou Manchu folk embroidery and Changbaishan Manchu pillow-end embroidery; their fields have not been checked page by page here, so they are not listed.
Ⅶ-81
蒙古族刺绣（图什业图刺绣）
Ménggǔzú cìxiù — Túshíyètú
Mongolian embroidery (Tüsiyetü)
- Listed2021 fifth round · extension
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHorqin Right Middle Banner, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia
- Protecting body科尔沁右翼中旗文化馆
An extension record. The original listing under Ⅶ-81 — presumably in the 2008 round — could not be located here, so its locality and protecting body are left blank.
Ⅶ-130
彝族刺绣（凉山彝族刺绣）
Yízú cìxiù — Liángshān
Yi embroidery (Liangshan)
- Listed2021 fifth round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityLiangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province
- Protecting body凉山彝族自治州非物质文化遗产保护中心
A different item number from the Sani embroidery of Shilin, Yunnan (Ⅶ-78).
Adjacent Techniques
Not needle embroidery, but worked on cloth with needle and thread and routinely encountered alongside it. Included here with the distinction stated.
Ⅶ-72
湟中堆绣
Huángzhōng duī xiù
Huangzhong appliqué
- Listed2008 second round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHuangzhong County, Qinghai Province
- Protecting body湟中县文化馆
The Chinese name contains the word for embroidery, but the technique is layered and padded appliqué, not needlework. Its main use is in the decoration of Tibetan Buddhist temple hangings.
Ⅶ-25
挑花（花瑶挑花）
Tiāohuā — Huāyáo
Counted-thread work (Huayao)
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityLonghui County, Hunan Province
- Protecting body隆回县非物质文化遗产保护中心
Counted-thread work is set by the warp and weft of the ground cloth, so the pattern is governed by structure; embroidery proper is free of it. English sources usually flatten both into “cross-stitch”.
Ⅶ-25
挑花（黄梅挑花）
Tiāohuā — Huángméi
Counted-thread work (Huangmei)
- Listed2006 first round
- CategoryTraditional fine arts
- LocalityHuangmei County, Hubei Province
- Protecting body黄梅县文化馆
Source and scope
Compiled from the project pages of the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (www.ihchina.cn), each opened and checked on 7 September 2026. Item numbers, names, rounds, submitting localities and protecting bodies are transcribed as they appear; nothing is inferred, and what could not be found is left blank. The English names and notes are written here — none of the descriptive text on ihchina.cn is reproduced.
This is not the whole register, only the part bearing directly on embroidery. A single item number may carry several submissions — different localities, different rounds — and the table is arranged by submission, with the remainder noted on the entry. Omissions are certain; corrections are welcome.