CHINA 30: SUZHOU-SILK FACTORY

June 7 Continued

Our next stop was a silk factory. At the factory they had displays about silkworms and cocoons. We were shown how cocoons are graded and sorted, how silk threads were spun out of them, and how double cocoons were stretched and layered to make quilts. Finally, we were ushered into the sales room.

Silkworms on mulberry leaves

Cocoons

Grading cocoons

Spinning silk threads

Stretching double cocoons for making quilts

Price Board

Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Suzhou has also been an important center for China's silk industry. It still occupies a prominent position today in the silk industry.