It’s not surprising that such a beautifully designed city as Hangzhou grew out of the profits of a similarly delicate commodity and – once upon a time – one of China's best-kept commercial secrets: silk. This is what turned Hangzhou into one of the main stations on the Maritime Silk Road – a sea trade route that connected East Asia with the Middle East and Europe since the age of antiquity.
Hangzhou’s China National Silk Museum (中国丝绸博物馆, Zhōngguó Sīchóu Bówùguǎn) occupies several galleries scattered around pretty landscaped gardens. It contains an impressive collection of silk items, some of which date from the times of the fall of the Roman Empire. The Fashion Gallery takes you through the history of Chinese and western fashions, rendered as a formidable army of sumptuously dressed mannequins, all wearing period clothing. The museum is free to enter.
