May 09, 2007
Making Silk the Old Fashioned Way
Yangshou is the destination village at the end of the beautiful Li River cruise. It's probably a hideous tourist trap to the Chinese, but it held much fascination for the western eye.
One of the dozens of charming and, admittedly, not so charming, shops along the main drag was a little worm- to-fabric, four person silk factory. You can see the final product hanging above -- it's silk, but I can't figure out how these little sacs, that are clearly stretched on the frames, become some silky product. Asking a complicated question was impossible at the time, and the internet has not been helpful. My guess is that this little factory is the equivalent of a Chinese Williamburg or Sturbridge Village, where a craft is practiced in an ancient way for the entertainment of tourists.
The worms, probably dead from frostbite or steaming. Roasted, they make a high protein snack
The cocoons, soaked and ready to be unwound.
Unwinding the cocoons onto a frame, thus creating the little sacs of photo number one.
Photo note: as above
Posted by Dakota at May 9, 2007 07:43 PM