Ausman Tarim, 72, starts his routine work every morning in a factory near his home in Hotan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. He has been weaving traditional Uygur silk for 58 years. [Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

Every morning Ausman Tarim, 72, walks to a tiny factory near his home to put his wrinkled hands to work. There he does what he has been doing for the past 58 years: weaving etles, traditional Uygur silk that in a bygone age was among the most popular items on the Silk Road and which has become a symbol of the Uygur people.

Tarim and countless other villagers in Jiya, Hotan prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, have been making etles for more than 2,000 years and are determined to ensure that their fine skills will still exist in another 2,000 years.

"Little has changed," Ausman says, sitting at the end of a wooden loom six and a half meters' long. "We still use the same techniques and natural dyes, so what you see now is exactly what would have been sold on the ancient Silk Road."

Yarns consisting of tie-dyed black and white silk (the tie-dyed refers to the process in which fabric is bound before it is dyed, resulting in a variegated pattern) is woven on the machine longitudinally, and Ausman's job is to use lateral silk yarns to produce a piece of cloth.

Ausman says his craftsmanship is something his father passed on to him.

"It's a family tradition and a very delicate job that deserves full concentration. My father said the smart ones can master weaving etles in less than two years, but with the dumbies it may take more than three years."

He adds, laughing: "I'm the dumb one."