A silk relics exhibition debuts in Shanghai, showing cultural exchange between China and Europe

An exhibition displaying silk and textile relics from China and France has launched at Shanghai History Museum on Friday.

Named Weaving in East and West: A Splendid Life is embroidered, the exhibition includes three different sections that tell the stories about China’s farming and weaving tradition, the textile industries and silk art of Europe, as well as the transformation of China’s traditional silk weaving industry into its modern one after integrating Western silk-making skills.

A total of 139 pieces of silk and textile relics, including precious silk robe of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), sleeveless cheongsam with floral pattern of The Republic of China period (1912-1949) and a piece of Jin (a kind of ancient Chinese silk) with dragon and phoenix patterns of the Warring States Period (475BC-221BC), valuable early 17th century silk pieces from Italy, 1900 French hand-painted pieces and a 1960’s French silk piece with a floral pattern were also included in the exhibition.

Those relics were mainly collected from two major areas of Lyon in France and the southern bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River of China, including cities such as Nanjing and Wuxi in East China’s Jiangsu Province, as well as Hangzhou and Shaoxing in East China’s Zhejiang Province.

Cultural institutions such as the China National Silk Museum, Nanjing Museum Administration and Suzhou Silk Museum supported the exhibition by contributing more than 80 relics for display.

The exhibition has also launched different digital technological designs such as multimedia exhibition items, QR codes and interactive games to enhance visitor’s viewing experience as well as to encourage them to take those relics home via mobile apps.

The exhibition is scheduled to end in March 2021.

Source: Global Times