In August of 2016, I (Larry Hightower) was part of a delegation from MGM Resorts International visiting China.  We were in Chengdu (Sichuan Province in the west of China) August 25-26.  Our guide and my longtime friend and colleague Professor Tangchun Wu arranged a farewell dinner for our delegation at a traditional Sichuan restaurant in downtown Chengdu.  Our dining room was enclosed with antique wooden wall panels that were beautifully carved.  We were served many wonderful dishes.  After dinner, we walked downstairs to an area that included several small shops selling a variety of antiques as well as more typical tourist items.  A cluster of about a dozen straw sandals tied together was hanging in the doorway of one of these shop.  I almost missed it!  I selected two pairs and the shop keeper cut them free of the cluster.  My colleague Wu told me that these sandals were woven locally from plants that grew in the countryside.  These sandals are now China 57 and 58 in the Straw Sandals Project collection.

China 58

China 57