From Silkworm To Cloth

Visiting a family’s silk-making shop was like stepping back into ancient times.

- Josanne La Valley

It is told that more than 2,000 years ago, a Chinese princess smuggled silkworm eggs in her hair when she was sent off across a vast desert to marry the king of Hotan. When she reached Hotan, she taught the people the secret of raising silkworms. She also taught them how to weave the silk threads of the worms’ cocoons into fine cloth.

Today, in the region of Hotan, silk is still being made by hand by the Uyghur (WEE-gur) people.

Preparing the Silk Threads

The car that I am traveling in seems out of place on the dirt roads outside the city of Hotan. Farmers and their donkey carts pass by. They are carrying melons to sell at market or bundles of straw to make beds for their sheep. My guide, Abdul, stops the car in front of wide wooden doors surrounded by high mud walls. The doors lead to a family’s courtyard filled with people making silk cloth.