Suzhou Silk
Museum is the first Chinese museum
specialized in silk. Founded in 1991, the museum located on 2001 Renming Road, near the Beisi Pagoda
in the old town of Suzhou.
Covering an area of 9,500 square meters, the museum houses six exhibition halls
namely for the Ancient Silk Exhibition, the Modern Silk Exhibition, the Special
Exhibition for Children, the Mulberry Yard, the Silk Weaving Machinery
Exhibition, and the Silk Cultural Art Gallery named after Master Qian Xiaoping.
In particular, the History Hall contains sections as Gallery of Ancient Silk,
the Sericulture Room, the Weaving & Dyeing Room, the Gallery of Imperial
Weaving in Qing Dynasty, the Gallery of Republican Period’s Silk Garment and
the Gallery of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The museum demonstrates China’s 6000-year-old
silk history from fabulous silk cultural relics, mulberry planting, silkworm
breeding to finished garments. Besides, there are the performances of traditional
silk weaving as well as the application of the modern silk technology on the
daily life. All in all, Suzhou
Silk Museum
is the combination of the static exhibits and the dynamic activities, of the
tradition and the modern.
Suzhou Silk
Museum has been given the honorary
title of provincial and municipal level in the popular science education and
the patriotism education. Except for the exhibition, the museum is inclusive of
the muti-functional lecture hall and the activity room, where the educationally
social events can be held, such as the small academic exchange and the popular
science lectures of the silk. These events have been extensively accepted and
highly affirmed.
As research base of two
weaving skills rewarded as Intangible Cultural Heritages, Songjin(Lampas) and
Zhangduan(Patterned Velvet), Suzhou
Silk Museum
is also well known for the achievements in restoration and conservation of silk
cultural relics. A reproduction center authorized by the State Administration
of Cultural Heritage has been set up within the museum since 1995.
