In 2017, when Liu Pujun arrived in Binhe No 4 village serve as the Party secretary, he found that many left-behind women and elderly people were idle all day long.

Having learned that many of the villagers were skilled in making embroidery, he transformed some idle houses in the village into a handicraft workshop and encouraged the villagers to make embroidery to increase their income.

But the embroidery sales were not good due to limited market demand.

Then, Liu thought of the hemp-woven crafts of Zhang Jing, an inheritor of the traditional intangible heritage in Ningxi Hui autonomous region.

"Hemp is widely cultivated in southern Ningxia. The material is environmentally friendly and the crafts made from it are good works of art," said Liu.

So he invited Zhang to teach villagers how to weave hemp.

At first, Zhang, who was occupied with her own work, refused the invitation.

But during a visit to the village, she found most of the left-behind villagers were elderly people, women and children who led difficult lives, which led Zhang to decide to help them.

In December 2017, Zhang started the first training session, which attracted a lot of learners. And Zhang taught the villagers diligently with all her expertise.

The 75-year-old Li Shixong and his wife Lei Xiumei were relocated to the village from their hometown in Pengyang county in 2014. In their new home, they lived on a monthly pension of 255 yuan ($37) and incomes from the transfer of their land and a cow.

Learning that there was no age limit for attendees of the workshop, they signed up and became regular workers in the handicraft workshop.

"Our children work in other places. We can earn some extra money using the skill to improve our lives," Li said. "Since last year, we have earned more than 10,000 yuan," he said proudly.

Since the establishment of the hemp handicraft workshop, 150 people have received training in three years and 45 people have been employed. Even villagers from outside came to learn the weaving skills.

In 2019, training courses were organized for the disabled.

Ma Youyun, a 52-year-old villager who is not able to do heavy physical work due to his disability, signed up for the workshop.

"It was difficult at first. Teacher Zhang patiently showed me the skills, starting from making the simplest coaster. Now I can make four to five coasters in one day," Ma said.

Like Ma, many villagers came to the workshop not only to make pocket money, but also to enjoy the warm atmosphere and chat with each other.

Zhang Jing comes to the village to receive products almost every month and pay the villagers wages. When some products don't meet the standards, Zhang would still give some money to the makers as encouragement.

Zhang also puts in a lot of effort to sell the products. He travels across the country to attend expos, introducing the hemp products to potential buyers.

Nowadays, the hemp handicrafts made in the village are sold in many tourist attractions across China, and they also appear on exhibitions held in countries such as Japan, France and Russia. Orders from overseas markets keep pouring in.

"Our goal is to make hemp weaving skills more and more sophisticated, and to upgrade weaving technology to help villagers rise from poverty and live prosperous lives," Zhang said.

Miao Lina and Li Yingilan contributed to the story.