If you go to southwest China's Guizhou Province , known as the home of batik, batik clothes are likely to be the first things to catch your eye.

The history of batik can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). It used to be popular in both central and southwest China. Somehow, the technique was lost in central China, but it has been handed down from generation to generation among the ethnic people in Guizhou.

Batik, also known as wax-resist dyeing, is a form of dyeing or printing folk art made by applying beeswax to create different shapes. Some of the designs on these batiks are bold, while others are fine and delicate. Wherever it appears on garments, scarves, bags, tablecloths, bedspreads, curtains, and other decorative items, the style is always simple and elegant.

A folktale about batik's origin goes like this: Long, long ago, there was a girl living in a stone village called Anshun, now a city in Guizhou Province. She was fond of dyeing white cloth blue and purple. One day, while she was working, a bee happened to land on her cloth. After it flew away, she found a white dot left on the cloth, which looked very pretty. This discovery is said to have led to the use of wax in dyeing.

Batik cloth made in Guizhou goes through four processes: waxing, painting, de-waxing and rinsing.

First a piece of white cloth is placed on a plain board or tabletop. Wax is put into a pottery bowl or metal pot and heated with charcoal until it melts. The wax won't dissolve in water unless the temperature is very high.

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