Since 2026, the silk quilt industry has been undergoing profound structural adjustments. According to industry data released by the China Silk Association, in the first quarter of 2025, the output of silk quilts from enterprises above designated size in the silk industry increased by 8.87% year‑on‑year, and sales of 50 sample enterprises reached 919 million yuan, a year‑on‑year increase of 10%. At the same time, the national silk quilt market shows a clear consumption upgrade trend, with quality and premiumization becoming the main theme of industry development.

Against this backdrop, an ancient craft passed down for millennia—the making of time‑honored handcrafted silk quilts—is embracing new development opportunities with a fresh approach.

A millennia‑old craft, passed down with dedication

The Bashu region is one of the important birthplaces of silk culture. For a long time, the output of silkworm cocoons and raw silk in Sichuan has ranked among the top in China. In 2024, the province's cocoon output reached 87,000 tons, and its high‑grade raw silk accounted for more than 50% of the domestic market. In 2025, the province's comprehensive output value of the cocoon and silk industry reached 65 billion yuan, and silk quilt production reached 598,100 units, maintaining stable growth against the trend. Chongqing also has a profound cultural heritage of sericulture. From the dedication of silk quilt craftsmen in Fengsheng Ancient Town to the holding of the "Shop in China · Love Chongqing" silkworm and silk consumption festival, the silk quilt making techniques in Bashu have been passed down through generations, sustaining their vitality.

The production of traditional handcrafted silk quilts, from cocoon ***ion to finished product, embodies the experience and painstaking effort of artisans at every step. Double cocoons—formed by two silkworms spinning together—are considered the superior raw material, as their high fluffiness and elasticity make them ideal for silk wadding. The process generally involves multiple steps: boiling cocoons, removing pupae, peeling the cocoons into wadding, sun‑drying, pulling the wadding, and stretching it into the quilt core. A craftsman in Fengsheng Ancient Town, Chongqing, highlights the key: "A fraction less force results in a noticeable loss of warmth." A qualified silk quilt requires more than three thousand manual stretches.

Upholding the value of ancient techniques

Unlike the industrial production method that "locks" silk in grids through machine quilting, genuine time‑honored handcrafted silk quilts adhere to the traditional technique of pure hand‑stretching. Hand‑stretching preserves the integrity of silk fibers and their natural hollow structure, keeping the quilt fluffy, breathable, and resistant to hardening over long‑term use. It is this reverence for and adherence to traditional techniques that gives time‑honored handcrafted silk quilts an irreplaceable quality value in the wave of industrialization—every such quilt is a sincere tribute to millennia of craftsmanship.

In recent years, the protection and inheritance of silk quilt making techniques have received growing attention. From the inclusion of Yuhang Qingshui silk floss making techniques in the national intangible cultural heritage list, to the preservation of complete manual process flows through master‑apprentice and community‑based transmission in various heritage workshops, ancient silk quilt making techniques are moving from "memories in museums" to "living heritage in daily life."

A new channel for Bashu intangible heritage to go global

Amid the wave of intangible cultural heritage going global, Bashu foreign trade enterprises, represented by Chongqing Hongyue Langcheng International Trade Co., Ltd., are turning their attention to the international market for time‑honored handcrafted silk quilts.

The company has been deeply engaged in Shanghai’s commerce for decades, accumulating mature overseas channel resources and an international business vision. After returning to its hometown, the company established its own high‑end home textile brand "Jinruifang," positioning the ancient silk‑road handcrafted silk quilt as one of its three core product categories, alongside the national‑level intangible cultural heritage—Liangping Bamboo Curtain Painting—and the municipal‑level intangible heritage—traditional straw weaving.

The company directly connects with local intangible heritage workshops and seasoned artisans, adhering to pure ancient handcrafting techniques, strictly controlling export quality and cross‑border compliance standards, and building an exclusive foreign trade channel from Bashu’s rural areas directly to the global market. From ensuring 100% double‑cocoon mulberry silk quality at the raw material stage, to adhering to pure hand‑stretching ancient techniques in production, to guaranteeing proper customs clearance and compliant operations at the export stage—authentic heritage products are legitimately exported overseas.

Writing a new chapter for the millennia‑old Silk Road

Carrying millennia of craftsmanship through trade, and connecting the vast world through heritage—from the origins of sericulture five thousand years ago, to the spread along the Silk Road, to today’s wave of intangible heritage going global—the ancient craft of time‑honored handcrafted silk quilt making is continuing a new Silk Road story in the Bashu region.

Chongqing Hongyue Langcheng International Trade Co., Ltd. is revitalizing the time‑honored handcrafted silk quilts that carry millennia of cultural heritage through professional foreign trade operations and brand‑oriented industrial thinking, bringing these exquisite handcrafted products of the Silk Road back onto the international stage.