In the morning we went to a silk factory. Silk production goes back 4000 years in China. A woman discovered it….of course. She was sitting under a mulberry tree and a cocoon dropped into her cup of tea. The hot water softened the cocoon which started to unravel and that started the entire industry which changed the course of history. The Silk Road became the most important factor to open up trade between China and the rest of the world. Here are the silk worms eating the mulberry leaves.
They then attach themselves to the leaves and spin their cocoons.
The cocoons are soaked in water and the very fine silk threads are unwound. Each cocoon provides about 1.5 km of thread.
Next we visited the Shanghai Museum. It is pretty hard to miss because the top is shaped like a giant cooking pot.
We saw ancient bronzes of all shapes and sizes dating back as far as 1800 BC.
It is hard to believe that over 3 thousand years ago an artist could produce such detail with molten metal. Many of the artefacts were used for religious rituals and royal ceremonies.
The sculptures were just as impressive. They covered a period from 400 BC to 1300 AD. They show how Buddhism first travelled to China and then was incorporated into Chinese culture over time.
The museum also includes more than 500 exhibits that highlight the 55 ethnic minorities that make up the population of China. They include many from Inner Mongolia and Tibet.
These ethnic costumes look pretty fashionable. I would wear them now.
Following the museum we went shopping on Nanjing St, one of the most famous shopping districts in China. Tonight is our last night with the tour . On Tuesday morning the four of us fly to the Yellow Mountains for a private tour. So tomorrow will be a travel day.
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