Ni Xuejuan was born in Zhenhu town Suzhou city in 1973. Raised in Zhenhu the embroidery town where there are about 8,000 embroidery ladies, Ni Xuejuan was deeply influenced by the embroidery culture there when she was young. She learned embroidery from her sister after she graduated from junior high school. At the beginning she only embroidered some simple patterns for Japanese kimonos. After several years of hard work, her embroidery skills improved a lot and began to embroider some complicated patterns. Later when she was making the embroidery Ten Red-Crowned Cranes, she made the acquaintance of Gu Wenxia and Wang Zushi, two silk embroidery masters in Suzhou Silk Embroidery Research Institute. She apprenticed herself to the two masters. While learning different embroidery techniques from the masters, Ni Xuejuan also studied painting and photography. She applied the knowledge she learned from painting and photography to her embroidering and made her embroidery works look more realistic.

Fun, hand embroidered by Ni Xuejuan

Lady with an Ermine, hand embroidered by Ni Xuejuan

Lion cub, hand embroidered by Ni Xuejuan

Koi carps, hand embroidered by Ni Xuejuan