Day 8, Thursday morning, continued
Silk Carpet Factory, Shanghai



Photo by Lucie Field





At the silk carpet factory we were given a brief tour and shown the process of designing and making the carpets. Again, this did not seem to be a place where the carpets were actually made, but a place to show tourists how the carpets are made. There were only a few people actually working on carpets and since one carpet can take months to make, I would think there would have to have been a lot more people and a lot more looms.


Photo by Gene Field




The patterns for the carpets are laid out on paper first and the designs range from what we traditionally think of as Persian carpets to flowered and other designs. The carpets are made entirely of silk. First they are woven on a loom, following the pattern as the weaving progresses.

When the carpet is done, it may go through another process where the carpet is clipped along the lines of the pattern to make the design stand out and give it more dimension.

  
Photo by Gene Field

Photo by Lucie Field
Photo by Lucie Field

Photo by Sheryl Arnold
  

In the showroom, we were shown how a carpet could look quite different depending on the light or the direction you were looking from. When a small carpet was flipped in the opposite direction, it looked like a different carpet: in one direction what was light became dark and vice versa. The carpets were very soft and luxurious and I am sure I am not the only one who wanted to take off my shoes and walk on them barefoot.


Clipping the finished carpet to give it a more 3-dimensional effect.



Photo by Sheryl Arnold
  

When you got tired of looking at carpets (and there were lots to look at), there was a small area in the center of all the carpets where you could sit down and have tea - which most of us did. I don't know how many people bought carpets because these were not carried home in a suitcase like most other things we bought, but shipped to California. There was another little room which we passed through when we were leaving and Lucie was able to buy her silk comforter which she had regretted not buying at the silk store in Suzhou.

Photo by Gene Field

I believe this sign was on the way to the restroom.



Photo by Gene Field

    Photo by Gene Field


Anne with the carpet she would buy if she won the lottery.


Photo by Sheryl Arnold

Notice how the carpet looks light when Sheryl holds the carpet this way. 		   Photo by Gene Field

When Sheryl turns it around, it looks like a different carpet.


13 August 2006 [China Trip index|next]