MUSEUM OF TRADITIONAL BROCADE OF NANKIN

A complete renovation of this exceptional museum has made it possible to highlight the important collections of this great art of the traditional tapestry of Nanjing initiated in the th century during the Yuan dynasty and at its peak under the Ming and Qing. Before 1949, 300 000 workers worked in the city's textile workshops!

The Chinese name of this fabric in silk and gold yarns, intended for the emperor and the preparation of official costumes, is yunjin, meaning "cloud fabric" because of the extreme variety of the grounds that somewhat resemble clouds. The workshops on the ground floor give an almost accurate idea of the reality of this craft 700 years ago: manual trades operated by two workers producing a maximum of 5 cm per day! This establishment, which includes a research centre on Chinese tapestry, makes it a unique structure in China. In the upper floors, many rooms are dedicated to other traditional fabrics.