Chinese Silk Export Goods

Timeline

1. 1581–1585Suzhou Prefecture · Suzhou PrefectureWeavers in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huzhou, and elsewhere produced satins, damasks, and silks; during the Wanli era Jiangnan silk output led the country, and merchant guilds carried raw silk and finished fabrics to Fujian and Guangdong ports specifically for overseas trade orders.
2. 1583–1587Yuegang, Zhangzhou · FujianAfter the Longqing opening, Yuegang became a legal overseas trade port; Fujian merchants loaded Jiangnan silks onto ships bound for Manila, Nagasaki, and Southeast Asian ports, each vessel carrying thousands of bolts of silk, and Yuegang customs duties became an important source of local revenue.
3. 1585–1590Manila · PhilippinesFujian merchant ships exchanged silk and porcelain for American silver in Manila, and Spanish galleons then transshipped the silk to Acapulco and New Spain, bringing Chinese silk into the American market and forming the core link of the trans-Pacific silk-silver flow.
4. 1586–1590Hami · Western RegionsBesides the maritime routes, Shaanxi-Ganshi merchants carried silk through Hami and Turfan into Central Asia, trading with Persian and Ottoman merchants; in the 1580s the overland Silk Road remained an important supplementary route for Chinese silk entering West Asia.