The Puzhen tie-dye workshop in Zhoucheng village doesn't have any modern machinery despite being one of the largest such operations in Yunnan province's Dali area.

On a recent day, a few big wooden buckets filled with dark blue liquid are seen in the front yard of this workshop in Southwest China.

Here, clothes in floral patterns flutter in the wind from ropes attached to poles as a bunch of elderly women in colorful traditional hats sew sheets.