If you are looking for an example of sustainable living, watch Li Ziqi living her life on her YouTube videos.
Living in a rural part of Sichuan province in southwestern China, this Chinese internet celebrity makes everything from scratch and films it in a very artistic way which oozes a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon type of serenity.
She told Goldthread in a rare interview in Sept 2019 that she simply wanted people in the city to know where their food comes from.
While her talents in the kitchen making food is impressive, her life skills of crafting and making something are equally awe-inspiring.
Here are ten times when Li Ziqi blew our minds with her skills:
1.When Li Ziqi made an entire cloak from wool
Viewers can watch the whole process of processing the wool, drying it , winding it with a spool, dyeing it and finally knitting the wool into a cloak.
According to the video description, she incorporated braiding into the knitting technique (meaning braid first and then knit) for everyone’s convenience.
Additionally, she said it was an easy and simple way for making clothing, blankets and scarves.
Perhaps Li Ziqi’s definition of ‘easy’ is completely different from the rest of us.
2.When she made one whole living room furniture set out of bamboo
This YouTuber never failed to surprise us with her life skills and in this video, she actually made one whole set of furniture from bamboo.
So where did she gets her bamboo from? She harvested them by herself, of course.
It is so impressive to watch her, from dragging all the bamboo, from the forest to sawing and putting everything together.
3.When she built her own oven like a badass
One of the perks of building your own oven is that you can shape it however you want. Here Li Ziqi decided to build her oven in the shape of a cute dog head.
Like all of her videos where she does not speak to the camera explaining to her audience what is she doing, in this video viewers are also left with lots of questions. For instance, what are the function of the glass bottles? Why mix the clay with the grass straw?
But who actually cares right? Nobody is going to build his own clay oven after watching the video.
4.When she makes shoes for her grandma
Remember those days when people used to make their own shoes? You don’t remember? Me neither.
In this video, viewers can see the tedious work that goes into making your own shoes. At the end of the video, some viewers might thank the heavens above that there are shoe outlets and factories to make shoes nowadays.
5.When Li Ziqi made her own woodblock printing
Woodblock printing in China has been around since the 7th century. It is a method used on textiles and later paper to publish books and other texts.
Here Li Ziqi makes her own woodblocks to print a letter. Again, another tedious job of carving the letters out (in Chinese calligraphy, remember!) to make small wooden stamps that only people like Li Ziqi has the patience to do.
6.When she reared silkworms to make a quilt out of silk
Here Li Ziqi introduces her viewers to sericulture or silk farming where she cultivates silkworms to produce silk. Did you know that silk was believed to have first been produced in China as early as the Neolithic Period?
We might not know how long it took for her to rear them, harvest the silk and then turn them into a comforter, pants and shirt for her grandma. But we do know that she needs to place the silkworms and mulberry leaves on trays, then put the silkworms on twig frames for them to form cocoons.
Once the cocoons are ready, she soaks them and winds the silk on spools. She then stretches them before sewing them into a comforter.
7.When Li Ziqi dyed a dress from grape peels
Every culture has its own natural dyes, whether they are derived from the leaves, roots or fruits of a plant that are used to colour food or textile.
While artificial colouring is widely available, it seems like we are going back to the olden days. This is because natural dye is in the ‘in’ thing now as it is more environmentally-friendly.
If you are looking to dye your textile using a commonly found natural ingredient, try grape peels like Li Ziqi did.
8.When she took up Shu embroidery, a traditional Chinese craft
It is never too late to take a traditional craft skill. Take it from Li Ziqi who took classes with a Shu embroidery master to learn this ancient skill.
Also know as Sichuan embroidery, it is among the oldest known embroidery styles in Chinese history.
Using satin cloth and coloured silk thread, the handwork is painstakingly refined.
9.When she makes cosmetics the Chinese traditional way
If you are wondering how did the Chinese actresses in your old kungfu dramas have full makeup? This video will answer your questions.
It also tells you how the red paper used as lipstick in period drama was made.
10.When Li Ziqi made her own aromatherapy
Li Ziqi is known for her cinematic, captivating scenery in her videos. This video of her making aromatic dew is perhaps one of her most beautifully shot videos.
Watch her collect magnolia lilies, roses, grapefruit flowers, rosemary and Centella leaves and purify them to collect their essences.
Do you have any favourite videos of Li Ziqi? Let us know in the comment box.
