A member of the Yi ethnic minority group demonstrates traditional embroidery skills of Yunnan at Shanghai Great World yesterday.

The culture of China’s southwest Yunnan Province is being showcased at Shanghai Great World, where members of minority groups are displaying their traditional skills.

Over 50 performers and artisans from Pu’er City in Yunnan are presenting folk art and cultural heritage exhibits during Pu’er Culture Week at the Shanghai Great World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Center.

The event, which runs through June 26, is also part of local government efforts to support the impoverished southwest region, both financially and through promotion of its ethnic cultures.

This is the first time many ethnic performers and handicraftsmen have come to Shanghai, said Li Yiyang, an official with the Pu’er museum.

Classes are available on six cultural heritage skills from Yunnan: paper-making, paper-cutting, woodcut printing, embroidery, bamboo weaving and traditional spinning.

The ancient paper-making process of Pu’er, a listed provincial heritage skill, retains procedures dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The paper was originally used to transcribe Buddhist Sutras and can be stored for decades because it resists insect and moisture, said Li.