Silk

Say the word silk and your imagination will gallop away towards something amazing and luxurious, mystical and beautiful. This smooth, soft and gentle textile that shines and sparkling like water on a summer’s day, has a very long tradition here in Hangzhou.

The tradition of making silk in Hangzhou and its province dates back some 900 to 1300 years ago and since then the Hangzhou silk is famous all over China. Later one, Marco Polo made it well known for the rest of the world. Even today Zhejiang province is the largest producer of silk in China and – yes - the home of China's National Silk Museum is here. It’s of course the biggest silk museum in the world and also one of the most visited and appreciated by tourists from all over China and from abroad.

The museum includes eight different exhibition halls: Silkworm Hall, Weaving Hall, Relics Hall, Prelude Hall, Folk Custom Hall, Achievement Hall, Dyeing Hall, and the Silk Manufacturing Hall. With this outstanding museum one can say that a Silk Road has been opened to the world again.