In Baihe village, Panlong town, Rongchang district, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, 50-year-old Liu Ronglu has amassed an extraordinary collection of 500 antique looms in what has become a personal mission to preserve a cultural legacy.
Photo shows various looms on display in Liu Ronglu’s home in Baihe village, Panlong town, Rongchang district, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. (Chongqing Daily/Mei Yao)
The town is Chongqing’s largest Hakka dialect enclave, home to nearly 40,000 Hakka residents whose ancestors arrived during the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). These migrants brought with them ramie seeds and traditional weaving techniques, which would eventually establish Panlong as a hub of xiabu (literally "cloth for summer"), or Chinese linen, in China. Rongchang xiabu was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2007.
Liu’s looms stand as silent witnesses to a glorious chapter of history—living fossils of the Hakka people’s deep-rooted presence in Chongqing and its neighboring Sichuan Province.
For Liu, who is not of Hakka descent himself, the rhythmic clacking of looms and the distinctive scent of ramie fiber are precious childhood memories. His father, a widower, supported Liu and his elder sister by weaving xiabu for neighbors.
At 18, Liu left home to seek opportunities beyond the village, eventually building a successful manufacturing business in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, after working in cities across China including Xi’an and Guangzhou.
However, a visit home with friends years later would alter the trajectory of his life. "The xiabu market was sluggish, farmland devoted to ramie was shrinking, and many families were chopping up their looms for firewood," Liu said.
"These weren’t just looms—they represented the roots of Hakka settlement and prosperity in Rongchang," he added.
That moment sparked an almost obsessive collecting mission. Over the following decade, Liu invested nearly 500,000 yuan ($69,792) of his own money, enlisting relatives to help him search door-to-door throughout Panlong town. The looms came at various prices—200 yuan for some, 500 for others, with the most expensive exceeding 2,000 yuan.
His collection now includes 30 looms over 300 years old, 50 that are more than 200 years old, and 100 dating back over a century. Each loom tells a story of the industriousness and cultural continuity of the Hakka people.
"The essence of Hakka diligence and family values lives on in the sound of these looms’ shuttles," Liu said. "I spent the first 50 years of my life building success for myself and my family. Now it’s time to do something for my hometown and its culture."
"He has accomplished something truly meaningful," said Li Huixiong, Party chief of Panlong town.
"By collecting and protecting these looms, he is preserving the cultural roots of the Hakka people. Our town is actively seeking policy support and resources to help him protect these looms," the official added.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0704/c98649-20336311.html