[Video/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

The Qidong Blue Calico Art Museum, located at the intersection of South Huangpujiang Road and South Minsheng Road in Qidong, Nantong, will open to the public before the Spring Festival after four months of construction, local media reported.

The museum will showcase the history and traditional techniques of blue calico by displaying more than 300 works and tools over its 1,600-square-meter area.

Blue calico, as a traditional handicraft, was widely consumed in the 1950s and 1960s. It was used to make hats, clothing, bags, and quilt covers. Typical patterns include peonies, magpies, and carps, all of which represented people's desire for a better life.

Qidong has been China's cotton textile production center since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and its blue calico products have been sold across the country.