Day 7: The Silk Kingdom
Suzhou is famous for the supply of 80% of the world's silk. The other 20% comes from Italy.
So, it was a privilege to visit the town and its' silk factory.
I didn't know this but silk is produced by worms feeding on mulberry trees. In Suzhou, the trees are small and have large leaves which gives the worms plenty of tucker. Once the worms mature, they spit out a single strand of silk to make the cocoon. This strand is nearly 2km long.
The cocoon is harvested and silk woven to produce garments. 5% of these worms create a twin cocoon, that is two worms intertwine their silk strands to wrap themselves up together. This silk is much stronger and used for things like silk parachutes and silk quilts. In fact, it is so strong, that the US is importing this particular type of silk and currently working on developing bullet proof vests made with it for their defence personnel. How interesting!
Of course, following this we were invited to spend up 🤑🤑🤑
And so we did 😀
Later that day, after a buffet lunch upstairs, we took a cruise along the Grand Canal. This canal serves as a transportation route now, but it was built 1300 years ago for the King to travel between Beijing and Hangzhou.
The city of Suzhou is 2500 years old. It is referred to as the Oriental Venice for its' exquisite canals and bridges. The cruise provided an insight into the way of life for a lot of Chinese living there. Very basic tiny accommodation, no bathroom, and untidy. Yet another reminder of how lucky we are!
Suzhou is approximately 2 hours away from Shanghai, so another long day on the bus for us. On the way back, we stopped at a mall for some shopping and dinner. Mum had her heart set on dumpling soup and so far we haven't managed to find it. We were on a mission tonight. Mission accomplished.
One more entry before we get back to reality.
So, it was a privilege to visit the town and its' silk factory.
I didn't know this but silk is produced by worms feeding on mulberry trees. In Suzhou, the trees are small and have large leaves which gives the worms plenty of tucker. Once the worms mature, they spit out a single strand of silk to make the cocoon. This strand is nearly 2km long.
The cocoon is harvested and silk woven to produce garments. 5% of these worms create a twin cocoon, that is two worms intertwine their silk strands to wrap themselves up together. This silk is much stronger and used for things like silk parachutes and silk quilts. In fact, it is so strong, that the US is importing this particular type of silk and currently working on developing bullet proof vests made with it for their defence personnel. How interesting!
Of course, following this we were invited to spend up 🤑🤑🤑
And so we did 😀
Later that day, after a buffet lunch upstairs, we took a cruise along the Grand Canal. This canal serves as a transportation route now, but it was built 1300 years ago for the King to travel between Beijing and Hangzhou.
The city of Suzhou is 2500 years old. It is referred to as the Oriental Venice for its' exquisite canals and bridges. The cruise provided an insight into the way of life for a lot of Chinese living there. Very basic tiny accommodation, no bathroom, and untidy. Yet another reminder of how lucky we are!
One more entry before we get back to reality.
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