Huang collects patterns in southwest China.

Huang Qingsui is a 32-year-old graphic designer from Du'an Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. After graduate school, he set out on an expedition in 2013, tramping through many ethnic minority villages deep in the mountains to collect classic textile patterns in southwest China including Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou.

A collection of classic patterns Huang has sorted (Source: Beijing Youth Daily)

Going door to door, Huang sketched traditional folk patterns one by one, copying from textiles and handicrafts such as old-fashioned swaddlings, straps, quilts, and dresses. Many of the patterns were about to vanish because the people who know how to make them are too old.

Several Chinese classic patterns included in Huang's online database (Source: Wenzang.art)

At present, Huang has found and saved more than 20,000 classic patterns, which he sorted into more than 200 groups and established an online database called "Wenzang." Based on the collection, he published a book on classic patterns.

The making technique of the classic pattern (Source: Beijing Youth Daily)

In an interview, Huang said that looking for patterns that are on the brink of extinction is like creating a "pattern dictionary." He aspires to integrate classic patterns into fashion, and make millions of young people use them. The best way to keep traditional object from disappearing is to revitalize them for the new era.