Silk Industry

Timeline

1. 1550–1610Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huzhou · JiangnanOfficial and private weaving advanced together in Jiangnan, with Huzhou silk and Wu damask sold at home and abroad; Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish merchants obtained raw silk and silk goods through ports such as Yuegang and Guangzhou, and the silk trade complemented the cotton and porcelain trades.
2. 1611–1620Manila–Nagasaki–Batavia route · PhilippinesChinese raw silk was shipped to Mexico via the Manila galleons, while the Japanese market relied on silk imports from China through Nagasaki; the Dutch East India Company re-exported silk goods at Bantam, Taiwan, and elsewhere, and silk price fluctuations affected luxury markets in East Asia and Europe.
3. 1621Eurasian silk centers · ChinaEuropean mechanized reeling and chemical dyes gradually challenged China's handcraft advantage; today China remains the world's largest silk producer, with traditional crafts and industrialization coexisting.