Luojing Cross-stitching is known for being down-to-earth, having distinct characteristics of original rural culture.

Stitched patterns are used as a decoration on home-made cloth for ordinary people. They used to be quite popular in the Luojing area of Baoshan District, Shanghai – so popular that all local women would know how to make them. Some products also act as carriers of folk customs, like the cloth people cherish and hide at the bottom of a closet, for infants, for promotion and moving, and for fending off evil spirit and so on. After more than three hundred years of development, the stitches have adopted a distinctive artistic style with special production process.

Basic stitching methods of the Luojing cross-stitching include "stitching", "twisted stitching" and "snake shelling". Such techniques put needles into the cloth and follow the trend of the threading to lead the pattern. The front side is a pattern made of crosses of the same size, and the back side follows strict and even distribution of dots, demonstrating an exquisite and unique craftsmanship; individual patterns come together to form a picture that is not vividly realistic but embodies a holistic artistic conception in abstract, naive, exaggerated, and deformed pictography. It not only showcases local customs, but also represents people’s desires and appeals, containing rich cultural meanings.