The horse tail embroidery of the Shui ethnic group is an intangible heritage in China. The village of Bangao in Sandu county, Guizhou province, is known as the hometown of the handicraft.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Song has had one wish for a long time that by the time she's 60, she will have demonstrated the commercial and aesthetic value of the embroidery. Now that her wish has come true much ahead of that age, she has two more wishes to fulfill. She wishes for a better venue than the current small wooden-structured museum to house her nearly 10,000 pieces of horse tail embroidery and a training school where she can teach young people how to sew.

Song says she has spent every penny she had on preserving the craft, but she didn't do it to win any trophies for herself.

"I'm doing something good for the country," says Song.

Liu Yinglun contributed to the story.