Homespun cloth on display at the Nantong Eminent Figures Museum. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The Nantong Eminent Figures Museum in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, is displaying nearly 100 pieces of homespun cloth and relevant creative products from Feb 27 to March 18.

Ma Jingru, a municipal-level inheritor of Nantong homespun cloth weaving techniques, was invited to demonstrate how to make homespun cloth at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Ma Jingru, a municipal-level inheritor of Nantong homespun cloth weaving techniques, demonstrates how to make homespun cloth. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Nantong homespun cloth has two basic styles that vary between different regions. The Tongru style is found in the regions of Tongzhou district and Rugao while the Qihai style originates from the counties of Qidong, Haimen and Rudong.

Tongru-style cloth is usually woven with blue and white yarns in traditional patterns of wicker, ants and osmanthus fragrans, a type of olive tree, and boasts a simple beauty.

Homespun cloth and the weaving tool on display at the Nantong Eminent Figures Museum. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Qihai-style cloth is famous for its varied and innovative patterns woven by different tools and techniques. The Qihai cloth's main patterns are reed flowers, bamboo joints and pellet flowers.

Mothers used to weave homespun cloth for their daughters as dowries to express their best wishes in Nantong. The patterns on the cloth also have special meanings. For example, the pattern resembling the Chinese character "井" symbolizes the girl keeping the house in good order, according to Song Yajun, an expert in Nantong homespun cloth.