[Video/ntjoy.com]

An exhibition themed "stories of cotton" is currently on show at the Nantong Textile Museum in Chongchuan district, Nantong, and will run until August 16.

The exhibition showcases the development of cotton planting and processing in Nantong, traditional weaving skills and modern manufacturing techniques.

Nantong has been famous for its cotton production since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). But it had not seen a great leap until Zhang Jian, a renowned modern industrialist and top scholar, strove to develop the plantation and usage of cotton.

Zhang launched a training course based at his agricultural company in 1902, with the aim of cultivating workers skilled in planting cotton. 

In 1914, he set up an experimental area for planting cotton from the United States, and promoted large-scale planting of upland cotton in coastal areas, which laid a solid foundation for the nationwide planting of deltapine cotton after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Nowadays, cotton is widely used in daily life, including textiles, medical treatment, the chemical industry, mining, automobiles and construction.