Honor of Kings, the flagship video game from Tencent, releases a new costume featuring the national intangible cultural heritage Su embroidery for the game character Wang Zhaojun on Aug 14. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]

Honor of Kings, the flagship video game from Tencent, released a new costume featuring the national intangible cultural heritage Su embroidery for a game character called Wang Zhaojun on Aug 14.

As Aug 14 this year marked Chinese Valentine's Day, the costume contains various elements of the festival, such as pearls, morning glory flowers, and magpies. It also integrates traditional qipao and modern design.

The new costume was designed to highlight the needling and stitching of Su embroidery through skill special effects in the game so that the players can have a better understanding of the craft.

Su embroidery master Yao Jianping, who assisted with creating the virtual version of the costume for the video game, also made a physical replica for the Tencent office.

As the birthplace of Su embroidery, Suzhou New District and Suzhou have been promoting the traditional culture through digital cultural carriers such as documentaries, livestreams and animations in recent years.

For instance, the documentary The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou screened in July showed nine traditional Suzhou crafts. The Suoshanqiao West Station, a subway station completed in June, was the first Su embroidery themed station nationwide.

The costume is made by Su embroidery master Yao Jianping. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]