China National Silk Museum

» Hangzhou, Zhe Jiang

China National Silk Museum Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information

Situated at the southern bank of the West Lake, in Hangzhou City of Zhejiang Province, China National Silk Museum opened to the public in 1992 and since 2004 people can visit it for free. It is the first state-level professional silk museum in China as well as the biggest silk museum throughout the world and was constructed utilizing both traditional and modern techniques and elements. It exhibits China's 5,000-year silk culture and its developmental achievements. Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin once described it as "Carrying forward the ancient silk culture, and exploiting a new Silk Road."

What to visit

As the first nationwide silk specialized museum, this museum, dedicated to reflect over 5,000 years of silk development history of China, consists of eight exhibition halls, namely, Prelude Hall, Relics Hall, Folk Custom Hall, Silkworm Hall, Silk Manufacturing Hall, Weaving Hall, Dying Hall and Achievements Hall.

The Preface Hall

It introduces the 5000-year-long history of Chinese silk culture. China is the earliest country that engaged in sericulture, filature and making clothes with silk. This hall provides strong evidence for this fact and shows the history of the Silk Road through which silk was spread abroad. It displays Silkworm Twining Map (can zhi tu, which details the whole process from silkworm-raising to silk- weaving) of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), a model of restored jacquard loom, and a chronological table of the emerging of silk around the world, which shows that China is the first country to plant mulberry, raise silkworm, reel silk and finally make silk.

Relics Hall

This hall presents several preserved relics, which cover almost every dynasty of ancient China, and a number of pictures to explain Chinese traditional silk culture. These relics are from various districts of China, including those excavated along the Silk Road, on the grassland of Northern China, and in the south of China. It should be mentioned that tourists can appreciate a piece of fragmentary brocade - Luo silk that dates back 5,630 years. That is the earliest silk that has ever been discovered.

Folk-custom Hall

The Folk Custom Hall showcases various creations of local silkworm-raising peasants and katydids.

Dyeing and Weaving Hall

Dyeing and Weaving Hall tells people how to dye and weave silk and the scientific theory of it. There are also weavers showing the whole process. Tourists are welcome to participate in the activity and do it themselves.

Achievements Hall

It displays the achievements of New China in silk production, silk research and silk trade and so on.

Convenience

China National Silk Museum is a museum equipped with modern facilities and is dedicated to providing convenience for tourists. It offers free guide, free audio guide, free pamphlets on silk information, and even free wheelchairs for the disabled. People can also choose their favorite silk goods in the museum shop and relax in the teahouse.

How to get there

Bus Route: 12, 809 Tourism Bus No. 3

Attractions around » Hangzhou, Zhe Jiang

Natural Scene

• West Lake
• Mt. Putuoshan
• Lake Qiandaohu
• Feilaifeng Peak
• Solitary Hill
• Red Carp Pond
• Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds
• Qiantang River
• Hupao Spring
• Grand Canal

Historical Site

• Lingyin Temple
• Ancient Town of Wuzhen
• Liuhe Pagoda
• Hefang Street
• Tomb of General Yue Fei

Cultural Site

• Hangzhou Botanical Garden
• National Tea Museum
• China National Silk Museum
• Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Orchid Pavilion

Day Entertainment & Sports

• Jian Lake Golf Culb

Shopping & Leisure

• Hefang Street

China National Silk Museum Highlights

Silk attraction highlights

• China National Silk Museum
• Bayunxiang Silk Clothing Shop

Museum in Great China

• Forbidden City
• Terracotta Warriors and Horses
• Shaanxi Provincial History Museum
• Sanxingdui Ruins
• Dunhuang Museum
• National Museum of China
• Shanghai Museum
• Weijin Art Gallery
• Gansu Provincial Museum
• Xi'an Banpo Museum
• Dinosaur Museum
• Han Yang Ling Museum
• Forest of Stone Steles Museum
• Tibet Museum
• Jingdezhen Ceramic History Museum
• Dongba Museum
• Chongqing Three Gorges Museum
• Hubei Provincial Museum
• Shanghai History Museum
• Great Wall Museum
• Memorial Hall to the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre
• Han Dynasty Tomb Museum
• Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
• Xianyang Museum
• Shandong Provincial Museum
• Nanjing Museum
• Meteorite Museum
• Salt History Museum
• Inner Mongolia Museum
• Hunan Provincial Museum
• National Tea Museum
• China National Silk Museum
• Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Luoyang Museum
• Chen Family Temple

China National Silk Museum FAQ & Travelers's Tips

  Weather

1. Hangzhou's weather and something we need to know

  Food

1. What's the specialty of Hangzhou cuisine?
2. What are some famous restaurants in Hangzhou?

  Shopping

1. What are the best souvenirs in Hangzhou?

  Customs

1. What are some local festivals in Hangzhou?

• Hangzhou's weather and something we need to know

  Hangzhou's weather is always warm and humid, with a clear division of four seasons.

  The peak season usually starts in March and lasts for a month, due to a flower-blooming season, with a temperature of 9 to 15 C.

  From late June to early July, it is the plum rain season. Rainfalls are very unpredictable. Typhoon takes places in the early August with pouring rains, so during this period of time, an umbrella is always needed when you prepare to go out.

  The winter in Hangzhou is just like other cities' in south China, with piercing cold. Warm clothes are strongly suggested.

  If you want to take a walk alongside the West Lake, please wear some warm clothes too, to avoid from getting a clod which will affect your journey.

  Each season in Hangzhou has its own splendid view and specialty, which are all worth visiting.

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• What's the specialty of Hangzhou cuisine?

  Hangzhou cuisine does have it's own characteristics: smells nice, tastes good and looks pleasant. Fresh tastes is the most well-known specialty of Hangzhou cuisine.

  The most famous dishes are Fish Maw with Chinese Broccoli, Dongpo Pork, West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy, etc.

  You can not underestimate Hangzhou's snacks. Thousands years of history provides a peculiarity of Hangzhou snacks. Congbaohui, Cat Ears (Do not panic. It's not really cat's ears. It's dough in a cat's ear's shape and is cooked in different ways), Noodles with Preserved Vegetable and Sliced Pork and Bamboo Shoots in Soup, Crisp Cakes, etc.

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• What are some famous restaurants in Hangzhou?

  Louwailou Restaurant

  Built in the 1840s by a Qing Dynasty Noble, Louwailou Restaurant is said to be the oldest restaurant in China. Many foreign heads have dined there when visiting this city.

  The Restaurant features authentic Hangzhou cuisine. Tasty food served including West Lake Carp in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Beggar's Chicken as well as Dragon Well Tea served with snacks.

  Address: No 30 Gushan Road
  Tel: (0571) 8796 9023
  Opening Hours: Open daily 11:30am - 2:30pm and 4:30pm - 8:30pm

  Tianwaitian Restaurant

  This is also a very old restaurant first opened in 1910. its nice location close to the Lingyin Temple, tasty seafood and warm service make the restaurant very popular eating place for tourist.

  Address: No. 2 Tianzhu Road, outside the Peak Flown from Afar Park entrance
  Tel: (0571) 8796 0599
  Opening hours: Open Daily 7am - 9pm
  

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• What are the best souvenirs to best in Hangzhou?

  Silk

  Hangzhou is well known for producing excellent silks, including satins.

  The best place for purchasing silk in Hangzhou is at Hangzhou Silk City, the biggest silk wholesale and retail market in China with more than 600 silk enterprises dealing in a wide variety of pure silk fabrics, garments, handicraft articles, scarves, and ties.

  It is located at No.253 Xinhua Road (at the intersection of Fengqi Road, Tiyuchang Road, and Xinhua Road). You can get to the site by bus No.11 and 28.

  Tea

  Hangzhou Longjing Tea (Dragon Well Tea) is considered China's best. It is not only famous for its unique green color, fragrant aroma, sweet taste, and flat appearance, but is also regarded as a health elixir.

  The tea falls into different grades; the best is the first pick of a year, normally in late March or early April.

  Besides its good quality, Longjing Tea also enjoys a famous long history. If you are interested in tea culture and history, Meijiawu Village in West Lake District is the ideal spot where you can have a cup of tea, watch a tea ceremony, and select tea under professional guidance.

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• What are some local festivals in Hangzhou?

  There are some remarkable festivals in Hangzhou, maybe you will experience one of them if you are lucky enough:
  

  • Dragon Well Tea Festival (April-May)
    The annual Dragon Well Tea Festival, hosted by Dragon Well Village, attracts people from everywhere to take part in activities such as picking tea, drinking tea, enjoying a tea ceremony, and walking in the countryside.
    
    
  • West Lake Lotus Festival (July-August)
    The main activities of this festival include viewing the beautiful lotus, picking lotus seed pods, shelling lotus seed, watching folk drama performances, and visiting the lotus exhibition. The host area is one of the scenic spots of West Lake-Qu Yuan Feng He.
    
    
  • West Lake Osmanthus Festival (September-October)
    Since osmanthus is the city flower of Hangzhou, the government has decreed that each year during September when osmanthus blooms, Hangzhou citizens host the West Lake Osmanthus Festival.
    
    The sites of the celebration are usually in Man Long Gui Yu Park, Man Jue Long Village, and Hangzhou Arboretum. Appreciating osmanthus and the food made of osmanthus, drinking tea, watching shows and painting exhibitions are the main activities during the festival.
    
    
  • China International Qiantang River Tidal Bore Festival (September-the 18th day of the eighth lunar month)
    During this tourist-friendly festival, one of the largest in China, visitors arrive to appreciate the great spectacle of the Qiantang River Bore. The bore is a unique natural phenomenon triggered by the pull of the moon.
    
    When the tides come in, a wave is produced so large that it surges several meters high. Every year this magnificent wonder draws thousands of tourists from all over the world.
    
    
  • West Lake International Fireworks Show (In the middle of October)
    This dazzling event in West Lake draws thousand of viewers to the fireworks site to witness the glittering and colorful skyline. Thousands of new fireworks products from different countries entertain enthusiastic visitors.
  
  
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