It has become very trendy to bash China.
Many of us take it for granted that China is a country of villains only able to copy or to counterfeit Occidental products. Are we right? Not exactly. We should not look down at a country which invented the wheel, the fireworks and which has always mastered the secrets of silk processing.
Antique Chinese piece of silk
Chinese silk painting (Yuan Dynasty)
Though we would travel by bus, train and airplane, we could not pretend exploring in a month the whole Silk Road – which extends some 4000 miles long from Europe to Beijing.
Actually, the term “Silk Road” is totally wrong. Silk roadS would be more appropriate as we are talking of a network of routes.
We also all know that Marco Polo was not the first one to trade with China. Way before he did, Central Europe tribes such as the Pazyrik nomads (part of the Scythians culture) did. This antique piece (3BC) – exhibited in the St Petersburg museum – shows one of them wearing……. a polka dot scarf. Will leave any scarf lover speechless!
300BC: a Scythian horseman wearing a… polka dot scarf (St Petersburg museum)
The trip I signed up for brought us to Beijing and among other places to Chengdu, then Lanzhou and finally Kashgar, near the Afghan border (Northern Silk Road).
This trip will remain one of the most memorable and fascinating ones I have made (so far) in my life: call it a life time trip.
During this trip I fell right away under the charm of both the people (always nice, friendly, and warm) and of monuments (breathtaking). I enjoyed the exquisite food. And, above all, I was very much impressed by the delicacy of local art crafts. In Kashgar, I bought some amazing pieces of silk fabric (and I found inspiration about how to tie a silk scarf into a belt). Did Marco Polo buy similar ones six centuries ago? I like to think so.
Silk fabric I brought back from China
I finally came back home with the idea that each country has its own assets: my native country (France) is the country of romance, good food and art de vivre. My adoptive country (USA) is the country where dreams can come true. And China is the cradle of silk… Even Hermès would acknowledge. Things have to be said sometimes…
Below are some photos taken in or near Kasghar that I feel like sharing with you. Enjoy!
Have things changed? Not really…
Colorful cradles
Kashgar: even children wear silk scarves … as a belt
Scarves: woman’s style and man’s style
Fur hats: back to Gengis Khan time…
Now tell me : can you bash China when it comes to (high quality) silk scarves?
Silky hugs 
Anne Touraine
In a word…NO!
Beautiful pictures Anne.
Caesar would appreciate, Jennifer !
xo
Non, bien sûr….. mais ma préférence va tout de même au savoir faire de nos grands soyeux de Lyon et aux fabuleuses créations H (même si nous savons toutes d’où vient la soie….). Je ne demande qu’à être convaincue…. à vous de jouer!
Catherine
Bonjour Catherine
Ce qui est certain en tous cas c’est que le nombre des soyeux Lyonnais s’est réduit à peau (de soie) de chagrin. Même Hermès est obligé parfois de faire appel à des compétences extérieures. Le roullotage est en partie fait à Madagascar…
Bon weekend!
My daughter ran a marathon on the Great Wall of China last year….I wish she had brought me a silk scarf from China…enjoyed the post!
Thanks dear Pam
What an amazing experience it must have been for your daughter. Next time she runs this marathon again, you know what to ask her to bring back…
Have a lovely weekend,
xo
I will have to reconsider china for my silk needs: I think sadly its become known more for mass marketed cheap goods than beautiful hand made silk scarves. Your photos are amazing. Whe. Did you go on the trip?
I did go, Heather and since then I look at the Chinese people with a different eye. Not only because they were nice and warm but also because they have a real talent for amazing handcrafts. Visiting a country puts things in perspective… We are citizens of the world!
xo
A wonderful and informative post, Anne! Thank you!
Your silk fabric from China is beautiful! And what wonderful photos! Love the photo of the little ones.
Hello Anne! What a fascinating post on China and silk scarves … who knew? I haven’t had time to research how or where I could have my illustrations placed on silk scarves but I plan to do so in the near future. So nice to meet you, look forward to reading more of our interesting posts
~Sandy
SANDY M Illustration
http://oohlafroufrou.blogspot.com
Thanks Sandy!
When I saw your illustrations I thought right away how great they would be on a scarf!
You are talented.
Cheers!
Ma chère,. this is an exquisite post. I have a very dear friend (and fellow opera lover), who is a docent at the Philadelpphia Museum of Art. Her specialty is Chinese Art and Culture. I will pass this post along to her. I know she will love it as much as I did. She’s also very fashion forward and wears scarves all the time. We have much in common. You’d love her, too.
Ciao for now, ma chère Anne,
M-T
Thank you ma chère cop
Can’t wait to meet you and your Chinese friend when I come upnorth. Please tell her I loved dearly her country. Actually, between you and I, when I was in Kashgar I had the strange feeling I was born there five hundreds years ago. I was a princess already addicted to scarves…
Bisous from your crazy cop!
What a magical adventure … truly a trip of a life time. Thank you for sharing it…
Thanks to YOU for visiting my blog, Celia. It was a true lifetime adventure…
xo