Songjin Brocade Weaving

Songjin takes its name from the Song dynasty, when it flourished; produced mainly in Suzhou, it ranks with Nanjing's Yunjin and Sichuan's Shujin as one of China's three great brocades, used to mount paintings and to make boxes, garments and trims.

Songjin shows its patterns through combined warp and weft and a distinctive colour-throwing technique that enriches the surface colours and layering; traditional production runs through more than twenty steps from reeling and dyeing to weaving, yielding elegant motifs and a firm yet supple fabric.

In 2006 Songjin weaving entered the first national list of intangible cultural heritage, with the Suzhou Silk Museum as its protecting institution.

Suzhou is the heartland of Songjin, and the city's silk museum preserves and displays both the weaving craft and surviving pieces.