Since 2026, the silk quilt industry has been undergoing profound structural adjustments. According to industry data released by the China Silk Association, in the first quarter of 2025, the production of silk quilts by enterprises above designated size in the silk industry increased by 8.87% year‑on‑year, and sales of 50 sample enterprises reached 919 million yuan, a year‑on‑year increase of 10%. At the same time, the national silk quilt market shows a clear trend of consumption upgrading, with quality and premiumisation becoming the main themes of industry development.
Against this backdrop, an ancient craft passed down for thousands of years — the making of ancient handmade silk quilts — is embracing development opportunities in a brand‑new light.
A Millennium‑Old Craft, Passed Down with Artisan Spirit
The Bashu region is one of the important birthplaces of silk culture. Sichuan's cocoon and raw silk production has long ranked among the top in the country; in 2024, the province's cocoon production reached 87,000 tons, and high‑grade raw silk accounted for more than 50% of the domestic market. In 2025, the province's comprehensive output value of the cocoon and silk industry reached 65 billion yuan, with silk quilt production reaching 598,100 units, maintaining stable growth against the trend. Chongqing also possesses a deep sericulture cultural heritage — from the dedication of silk quilt artisans in Fengsheng Ancient Town to the holding of the "Shop in China · Love Chongqing" Cocoon and Silk Consumption Festival, the silk quilt making skills of the Bashu region continue to thrive through generations.
The production of traditional handmade silk quilts, from cocoon ***ion to finished product, embodies the experience and dedication of artisans at every step. Double cocoons — cocoons formed by two silkworms together — are considered the best raw material, as they are highly fluffy and elastic, making them ideal for silk wadding. The production generally involves multiple processes: boiling cocoons, removing pupae, peeling and forming wadding, drying, pulling the wadding, and then turning it into the quilt core. An artisan in Fengsheng Ancient Town, Chongqing, captured the essence: "A slight difference in strength means a noticeable loss in warmth." A qualified silk quilt requires more than 3,000 manual stretches.
The Value Commitment of Ancient Craftsmanship
Unlike the industrial production method of machine quilting that "locks" the silk into grids, genuine ancient handmade silk quilts adhere to the traditional craft of pure hand‑pulling. Hand‑pulling preserves the integrity of the silk fibres and their natural hollow structure, keeping the quilt fluffy, breathable, and resistant to matting over long‑term use. It is this reverence for and adherence to traditional craftsmanship that gives ancient handmade silk quilts their irreplaceable quality value in the midst of industrialisation — each ancient silk quilt is a reverent tribute to the artisan spirit of a thousand years.
In recent years, the protection and inheritance of silk quilt making techniques have received increasing attention. From the inclusion of Hangzhou Yuhang Qingshui silk wadding making techniques in the national intangible cultural heritage list, to various intangible heritage workshops preserving the complete manual process through mentorship and hands‑on teaching, ancient silk quilt making is shifting from "a memory in museums" to "living inheritance in daily life."
A New Channel for Bashu Intangible Heritage to Go Global
In the current wave of intangible cultural heritage going global, foreign trade enterprises from the Bashu region, represented by Chongqing Hongyue Langcheng International Trade Co., Ltd., are turning their attention to the international market for ancient handmade silk quilts.
The company has been deeply involved in Shanghai's commerce and trade for decades, having accumulated mature overseas channel resources and an international business vision. After returning to its hometown, the company established its own high‑end home textile brand, "Jinruifang," positioning the Silk Road ancient handmade silk quilt as one of its three core product categories, alongside the national intangible cultural heritage Liangping Bamboo Curtain Painting and the municipal intangible cultural heritage Traditional Straw Weaving.
The company directly connects with local intangible heritage workshops and experienced artisans, adhering to pure ancient handcrafting techniques, strictly controlling export quality and cross‑border compliance standards, and building an exclusive foreign trade channel from Bashu's countryside directly to the global market. From ensuring 100% double‑cocoon mulberry silk quality at the raw material stage, to adhering to pure hand‑pulling techniques in production, and guaranteeing compliant customs clearance and operation at the export stage — authentic intangible heritage products are officially exported overseas.
Writing a New Chapter for the Thousand‑Year Silk Road
To carry thousand‑year craftsmanship through trade, and to connect the world through heritage. From the origins of sericulture five thousand years ago, to the far‑reaching spread of the Silk Road, and now to the contemporary wave of intangible cultural heritage going global — the ancient craft of handmade silk quilts, passed down for millennia, is writing a new Silk Road story in the Bashu region.
Chongqing Hongyue Langcheng International Trade Co., Ltd., through professional foreign trade operations and a brand‑oriented industrial mindset, is revitalising the ancient handmade silk quilts that carry a thousand‑year cultural legacy, bringing silk‑road handcrafted masterpieces back to the international stage.
