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WEAVING A NEW STORY

Modern technology and designs, along with social media, are injecting new energy into traditional carpet weaving to sustain and promote the cultural legacy

By Xu Ming Updated Sept.1

Nyima Tashi, a 55-year-old craftsman who works at Tibetan carpet producer Khawachen in Lhasa, was busy weaving a rug when several visitors walked into the workshop on a late May afternoon. He threaded the yarn strand by strand through the weaving rods, tied knots, and then struck it with a hammer to tighten the weave. He did not notice the visitors at all until they gathered around him. Fans of the enterprise who had discovered it on lifestyle app RedNote, they watched as he worked, letting out oohs of admiration.　

A master in handwoven Tibetan tapestry, Nyima Tashi comes from Xigaze, the second-largest city in China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. He learned carpet weaving at 14 and joined Khawachen right from the start in 1994. “Weaving carpets requires extreme patience. Even the smallest piece takes several days. But finishing a piece gives me a strong sense of achievement,” said the weaver who feels proud of carrying on the traditional techniques, which is listed as China’s national intangible cultural heritage. Now he passes on his knowledge to the next generation.　

Nyima Tashi said he is used to visitors coming from the rest of China and the world who know the company from social media, fascinated by its modern Tibetan rug designs and the intricate process of handcrafting. The factory, set in a Tibetan-style courtyard, still only sells handmade high-quality products.　

“We get visitor bookings almost every day,” said Zheng Yi (Phuntsok Tashi), general manager of Khawachen. Some place orders on the spot. It has injected new vitality into the enterprise, where the workers have a passion for retaining traditional rug weaving techniques.

Nyima Tashi weaves a rug at Khawachen, Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, May 26, 2025 (Photo by Xu Ming)

Piles of History

The craft of weaving Tibetan rugs is thought to date back to around the 7th or 8th century. The thick-pile rugs are woven mainly from sheep wool and have many uses. In the household, the warm and moisture-resistant rugs are utilitarian, used for wall hangings, saddles, sleeping and particularly sitting on, a necessity for nomads living in traditional tents on the high plateau.　

In monasteries, rugs cover low wooden platforms for monks to sit on. While rugs may be plain with one color only, high-quality rugs are intricately patterned, with a color palate of bright red, yellow, green and blue. Wealthier families could afford elaborate rugs with auspicious designs such as phoenixes, flowers, dragons, Buddhist swastikas or geometric patterns.　

While records are sparse before the 20th century, places like Gyangze County and Lhasa were centers of production for a long time, and as more modern techniques were introduced to the Himalayan region following the peaceful liberation of Xizang in 1951, particularly the establishment of the Xizang Autonomous Region in 1965, production increased until the mid-1990s.　

Around this time, an influx of cheap, machine-made carpets severely impacted the market for handmade Tibetan rugs, forcing many artisans to abandon their craft. Young people were deterred from the industry due to the intricacy of the process and the long apprenticeship. “It took me at least three years to master all the skills when I was young,” Nyima Tashi said.　

Now there is a revival in Tibetan rugmaking, due to more government support, interest from tourists and innovation from carpet manufacturers. Brands leverage social media to increase marketing, and rugs are showcased in art and home furnishing exhibitions in big cities.　

With this renewed appreciation of their value, Tibetan rugs are popular for upscale home furnishings and as collectibles. This gives them a bigger role in boosting the local economy and more importantly, spreading Tibetan culture.　

“We feel obliged to carry on the craftsmanship and revitalize it. To us it’s not only a product but also an important part of Tibetan culture, reflecting Tibetan people’s religious beliefs, aesthetic values and daily customs,” said Tseten Sherpa, owner of Pangyenmedo Industrial and Trading Company, a Tibetan rug manufacturer based in Chushur County of Lhasa.

Pictured is a handmade Tibetan rug produced by Pangyenmedo (Photo Courtesy of Tseten Sherpa)

Revitalizing an Industry

A pioneer in preserving Tibetan rug weaving and revitalizing the industry was Kesang Tashi (1943-2021), an ethnic Tibetan originally from the Shangri-La region in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, which borders Xizang. Having attended university and grad school in the US and then working in banking, Tashi became interested in sustainability and conservation, returning to China to establish Khawachen in Lhasa in 1994, among many other projects he established, including a tea business and an eco-hotel.　

“At that time, he saw that established carpet producers in Xizang made mainly old-fashioned carpets in terms of patterns and designs, not in line with international aesthetics. Nepal had become the main carpet exporter,” Zheng Yi, one of Kesang Tashi’s nephews, told NewsChina.　

Kesang Tashi traveled the region to find skilled artisans from traditional carpet-making centers, eventually employing around 150 rug makers. Some of them, master artisans now, still work in the enterprise. He wanted to ensure every rug they made was an artwork.　

At its peak, Kesang Tashi exhibited Khawachen’s products overseas, including in the US and UK, establishing a global company to sell them. It was one of the first companies in Xizang to export Tibetan rugs in the 1990s.　

“I’d never imagined the carpets I wove would go out into the world,” said Nyima Tashi, adding that the quality expectations for exported carpets are very high, which has trained them to be extremely careful with every piece of work as a result.　

Kesang Tashi sought an international design team to innovate traditional patterns, based on wide research to suit the tastes of overseas consumers. “Khawachen proved more able at breaking through the traditions,” Zheng said.　

“At Khawachen, our core value is integrating traditional Tibetan culture and art with contemporary tastes and modern consumer demand,” Zheng said. One series is based on the seasons, in the style of Impressionist art. “Many designs embodied the most modern aesthetic in Tibetan rugs [when we started], but we find young people still like them today,” Zheng said.

Artisanal Approach

Khawachen was challenged when its main export market was affected by the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, workers’ wages rose rapidly in the early 2000s, leading to soaring labor costs. The number of employees dropped from nearly 300 in the 1990s to less than 30 today.　

But Zheng noted that the decline of the handicraft industry is a global phenomenon, an inevitable result of rapid economic development.　

Khawachen’s annual output dropped to below 1 million yuan (US$139,400) after 2008, but it has risen to 4 million yuan (US$557,500) since Zheng took the helm. Some 20 percent of its products, customized as high-end furniture products, are exported to countries like the US and Japan. “There’s no worry about sales. Demand is greater than we can supply,” Zheng said.　

Using machines is a big temptation, but Khawachen insists its products are completely handmade. “Handwork has warmth and is personalized. That’s where you find the value of Tibetan rugs. The bedrock of our business will be damaged if we use machines,” Zheng told NewsChina. He realizes Khawachen’s capacity is limited by lack of artisans.　

Zheng has taken a sharp career turn since he took over at Khawachen in 2022, coming from finance and real estate. But he is increasingly aware of the merit of traditional handicrafts and is dedicated to breathing new life into the plateau’s art and craft traditions.　

“I’ll continue Kesang Tashi’s legacy. In the future, we’ll do more to modernize traditional patterns and techniques, or represent the traditional craftsmanship with a more modern language,” Zheng said. He added that Khawachen’s mission is to build a Tibetan-origin lifestyle brand with global appeal.　

Capturing young consumers is key. Khawachen uses social media channels such as short-video platforms Douyin and RedNote to promote rugs and exhibitions in big cities like Shanghai. “It’s important to let young people appreciate the value of traditional rugs like those Khawachen makes,” Zheng said.　

Since the summer of 2023, social media has attracted visitors to their factory, built around a courtyard which has not changed since the enterprise was established. These visitors include not only tourists and influencers, but also Tibetan carpet lovers and college students and scholars interested in ethnic culture.　

“Letting people approach, step into the courtyard, witness how a Tibetan carpet comes to life is perhaps the very first step toward its rebirth,” Zheng said. He believes that traditional Tibetan carpets will continue to hold great value in days to come.

Modern Tastes

Like Khawachen, many traditional Tibetan rug producers in Xizang remain committed to producing handcrafted rugs while adapting to modern tastes.　

Tseten Sherpa, a citizen of Nepal who is originally from Nyalam County in Xizang, said he has been interested in rugs ever since he used to watch his parents weave in the family workshop. He learned the skill as a teenager and had a business in Nepal before moving it to Xizang in 2004, he told NewsChina.　

Making Tibetan rugs involves dozens of meticulous steps from combing, spinning, dyeing, winding, hand weaving and trimming to the final washing and flattening.　

“It requires a lot of manpower if it’s all done by hand,” Tseten said.　

Traditional Tibetan rugs use only wool produced from sheep in northern Xizang at high altitudes, and natural dyes derived from plants and minerals, and this practice is still adhered to, Tseten said.　

Weaving a rug of 90 by 190 centimeters takes 15-45 days even for a skilled artisan. The time varies according to knot density, which refers to the number of lines per unit width, an important indicator of a carpet’s quality, according to Tseten.　

Internal and external changes in the late 1990s caused a decline in the carpet industry in Xizang, from the improvement in living standards and better work opportunities, to an influx of cheaper machine-made carpets. Changes to nomadic lifestyles meant less need for thick rugs. A machine-made carpet cost at most several hundred yuan while a similar-sized Tibetan rug might cost 10 times as much.　

When Tseten built his factory in Lhasa in 2004, there were at least 16 traditional carpet producers in Xizang, he recalled. Now only a few remain.　

Tseten believes the factories closed mainly due to a lack of skilled workers. People had more choices as the economy developed. The intricate craftsmanship and lengthy training required mean the younger generation are hesitant to pursue the tradition. “Old craftsmen can’t sit all day anymore and young people don’t want to do this hard and tiring job,” Tseten said.　

The cost of labor has soared too. “Twenty years ago, one worker was paid only 150 yuan (US$21) a month. Now salaries have risen to around 5,000 yuan (US$697),” he said.　

“Many factories don’t do research and development to improve their products, sticking to the most traditional ones. But if they don’t innovate, there’ll be no chance for development,” Tseten said.　

Taking out bank loans in 2008, he started buying new machinery to improve efficiency. From 2010, some processes were automated, including wool washing, spinning and dyeing.　

“Machines can wash 10 tons of wool a day. That’s impossible by hand,” Tseten said. But the essential processes which give Tibetan carpets their value, such as weaving and carpet washing, are still done by hand.　

To produce higher quality carpets, the company has been refining materials and techniques. Silk is added to some rugs to make them thinner, tailored to the taste of Europeans.　

The knot density of its Tibetan carpets has increased, first from 60 to 80, then to 100 and 150. “Next we’ll make carpets with a knot density of 200. It will be very thin, like a Persian rug,” Tseten said.　

His company Pangyenmedo has made immense efforts to innovate colors and patterns to the taste of foreign consumers who are mainly from Europe and the US.　

“We have a German design team, and they keep a close eye on popular colors and patterns in Europe. We design 50-100 new patterns a year to meet the demands of customers from both China and abroad,” Tseten said. “Americans might prefer traditional patterns with distinct Tibetan characteristics. But Europeans might like simple and modern designs. We try to adapt to what customers want without compromising traditional techniques,” he added.　

From 2008 until 2020, when the pandemic hit, his company’s revenue rose on average by 5-10 percent year-on-year, Tseten said.　

At present, Pangyenmedo’s annual output of Tibetan rugs is about 45 million yuan (US$6.3m), accounting for over half of its business, which includes exporting wool to Nepal and producing traditional white Tibetan scarves, known as khata.　

One of the leading rug producers in Xizang, their products are mainly sold in domestic markets like Beijing and Shanghai where “people know the value of Tibetan rugs,” while 30 percent are exported.　

Today, Tibetan rugs made in Xizang have earned a solid reputation abroad,according to Tseten. “Many will only buy one when they see the word ‘Tibetan carpet’ on it,” he told NewsChina.

A handmade Tibetan rug depicting a yak-racing scene made by Khawachen hangs in a room (Photo Courtesy of Zheng Yi)

Tibetan women dressed in traditional costume from a cooperative in Shannan, southwestern Xizang, showcase traditional carpet weaving techniques at the second Xizang Tibetan Carpet Expo in Lhasa, January 11, 2018 (Photo by CNS)

Fresh Ideas

The vigorous development of the carpet industry attracts more young people to the business, who infuse traditional crafts with fresh ideas and fashionable aesthetics.

In 2014, Tenzin Trinley, an architecture graduate born in the 1990s, gave up a stable job as a civil servant to establish a cooperative in his hometown Gyangze, a traditional craft center.　

Tenzin Trinley found that traditional Tibetan rugs were being vastly outsold by new machine-made products, meaning that many artisans had to leave home to find work. “It’s so sad to see these precious techniques are at risk of being lost,” he told NewsChina.　

Combining his knowledge of architectural design and traditional weaving, Tenzin Trinley developed a technique for weaving rugs with 3D effects. His team digitized the rug pattern design process, replacing manual methods, significantly improving efficiency and precision.　

This technology allows them to customize Tibetan carpet based on photos customers provide. Their goal is to integrate modern and diverse elements into Tibetan rugs to attract buyers, he said.　

These enterprises have a wider societal value, providing non-profit training programs, helping more people learn traditional skills and creating job opportunities for farmers and herders.　

Between 2019 and 2022, Pangyenmedo alone held more than 10 training sessions, benefiting over 1,000 participants. Over 400 individuals obtained official certification and many found employment in enterprises or started their own businesses.　

Wool purchasing has boosted the income of farmers and herders in Nagqu, Ngari Prefecture and Xigaze. Apart from buying wool from herders across the region, Pangyenmedo provides seasonal employment for some 300 people to do tasks such as wool sorting every year. The factory calculates it spends around 60 million yuan (US$8.4m) annually buying and sorting wool, and pays a combined 2.6 million yuan (US$362,385) to its seasonal workers over a four-month period.

Pangyenmedo employees wind yarn outside their factory, Chushur County, Lhasa, 2018 (Photo Courtesy of Tseten Sherpa)

Protection and Inheritance

“Carpet factories have retained traditional production techniques and they play an important role in passing down and protecting the craftsmanship,” said Phuntsok Thondup from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Xizang based in Lhasa.　

As equipment and patterns have improved, they can create products according to different needs and budgets. “Local residents believe rugs are only for sitting on. We never imagined they could be hung in hotels as decorations or in museums as an artwork,” Phuntsok Thondup said.　

Regional authorities have done much to assist factories to improve facilities and techniques.　

Since 2003, Xizang has been fully committed to promoting the development of the Tibetan carpet industry by allocating land, providing financial support and tax incentives, encouraging technological upgrades and guiding coordinated regional development. These efforts have laid a solid foundation for the long-term development of the Tibetan carpet sector.　

The traditional knot-tying weaving technique for Tibetan rugs that originated in Gyangze was added to China’s national intangible cultural heritage (ICH) list in 2006. Since then, the government has opened ICH workshops, provided non-profit training classes and subsidies, and encouraged carpet factories to join domestic and international exhibitions.　

In 2007, the region started to certify inheritors of intangible cultural heritage including Tibetan rug weaving, according to Phuntsok Thondup. Certified inheritors are given grants to ensure the intergenerational transmission of traditional crafts. A nationally recognized inheritor can get a subsidy of 20,000 yuan (US$2,785) a year while a regionally recognized inheritor could get 10,000 (US$1,400) a year, he said.　

Gyangze Carpet Factory, which was built in 1973, was designated a national ICH productive protection demonstration base in 2011, and in 2017, regional cultural authorities allocated 6.5 million yuan (US$906,000) to the factory, which they used to construct two modern factory buildings.　

Lhaphun, manager of Gyangze Carpet Factory, told media in 2023 that the factory was well-equipped, with 60 skilled workers working flat out to keep up with their orders, which are sold across China and exported. In 2019, the factory’s output had already reached 2.3 million yuan (US$320,570).　

Government subsidies have allowed Khawachen to digitalize weaving patterns using software to aid design, a great improvement to efficiency, manager Zheng Yi said.　

According to the ICH division of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Xizang, between 2012 and 2024, some 473 million yuan (US$65.9m) was invested by the central and regional governments to support ICH protection. A relatively comprehensive ICH listing system has been established in Xizang, with 2,760 recognized projects, 1,790 officially designated inheritors and 159 intangible cultural heritage (ICH) training bases. Among them, 106 projects and 117 inheritors are on the national ICH list.　

In 2018, Xizang launched a plan to revitalize traditional crafts such as rug weaving, opera mask making, thangka painting and Tibetan incense making, among others. The plan aims to strengthen quality, branding and market awareness among traditional craft practitioners, promote the development of renowned local brands and support young artisans through mentorship by masters and experts.　

The traditional crafts industry has developed rapidly, which is also due to the robust development of Xizang’s tourism economy. In 2003, there were only 108 registered ethnic craft enterprises in the region, with output totaling 145 million yuan (US$20.2m) and 9,600 practitioners, according to an article in the Journal of Xizang University published in 2006. By September 2023, there were more than 2,500 registered ethnic craft enterprises, with over 34,000 people engaged in the trade.　

In April 2024, the Xizang Tibetan Carpet Association was established. Tseten expects it will bring Xizang rug companies together to improve development. “Together, we could at least hold a few exhibitions annually,” he said. He is also applying to open a Tibetan rug showroom in the industrial park where the factory is, which will show how carpets are made and the story behind the craft.　

Tseten plans to renovate his 20-yearold factory starting in 2026. But they will not move too fast. “We’ll move forward steadily, one step at a time, and focus on refining the product. My wish is to develop it into a century-old brand,” he said. He would like regional authorities to pay more attention to the industry that he believes is green, sustainable and will create job opportunities.　

Zheng Yi is confident the market for Tibetan rugs will only get better. He plans to concentrate more on exporting through e-commerce platforms and is considering cooperating with internationally known designers and artists.　

He also wants to transform his studio courtyard into a center for Tibetan culture and art, in cooperation with other art institutions, given that it is already on the tourist trail.　

“That is our first small attempt in this direction,” he said, pointing to a café in the courtyard where several young people were enjoying coffee as they admired the Tibetan carpets hanging on the wall.

A Tibetan carpet vendor’s booth draws a large crowd at the Xizang Domestic and International Commodity Fair, Lhasa, May 4, 2023 (Photo by CNS)

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