Suzhou Kesi Silk Tapestry Weaving

Kesi is an ancient Suzhou silk-tapestry craft, seen by the Tang and elevated to a court treasure in the Song when calligraphy and painting were woven into it; it survives mainly in Suzhou and its surroundings.

Using an old wooden loom with bamboo shuttles and pickers, the weaver follows the 'continuous warp, broken weft' method, building the design colour-block by colour-block so that coloured silks form a tapestry with a full tonal range and identical patterns on both faces; the labour is so great that 'an inch of kesi is worth an inch of gold'.

In 2006 Suzhou kesi weaving entered the first national list of intangible cultural heritage, and in 2009 it was inscribed, as part of Chinese sericulture and silk craftsmanship, on UNESCO's representative list of humanity's intangible heritage.

Suzhou is the heartland of kesi, and institutions such as the city's silk museum preserve and display this exacting weaving art.