Batik, also known as laran or wax printing, is a form of dyeing or printing folk art made by applying beeswax to create different shapes. The cloth is generally dyed with indigo, and when the wax is removed with hot water, the images appear. Today you can still find batik being done by the ethnic people in the South-West of China. The traditional designs are geometric. With the influence of the Han Chinese more figurative designs like flowers, birds, fish have been introduced over the centuries.