[Video/WeChat account: rugaofabu]

The production of silk carpets in Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong, dates back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) and came into prosperity in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

In ancient times, the carpets were exclusive to royal courts and were rarely seen in the homes of ordinary families. Following a change in dynasties and social turbulence, the craft tethered on the edge of extinction in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

After the founding of the People's Republic China, craftsmen from different generations worked together and eventually restored the technique in 1973.

From afar, patterns on the carpets, which are formed by numerous knots, look like printed images. 

According to Li Yukun, curator of the Rugao Silk Carpet Art Museum, these carpets are made entirely by hand. A skilled worker can tie 8,000 to 10,000 knots per day and will require about 20 days to produce just one square meter of a carpet.

The museum has worked with more than 160 renowned painters around the world. The carpets are sold at foreign art galleries and can also be seen at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.