Explore the Nansha Xiangyun Silk Cultural Creative Park
If you wish to gain a deeper understanding of the Xiangyun silk dyeing and finishing technique—a precious intangible cultural heritage—the Nansha District of Guangzhou is the ultimate destination. The area is home to two major Xiangyun silk production bases that you can visit in person:
Xiangyun Silk Cultural Creative Park
Yunsha Xingyun Xiangyun Silk Intangible Cultural Heritage Park
Additionally, if you want to experience the unique charm of Xiangyun silk fabric firsthand and see how contemporary designers are breathing new life into it, you can visit:
Wurui Miracle (custom clothing)
Nansha Youli (local cultural gift brand)
Xiangyun Silk Cultural Creative Park: A Core Base Integrating Production, Education, and Research
Located in Heshai Village, Lanhe Town, Nansha District, the Xiangyun Silk Cultural Park was established by Lanhe Town in 2016 to protect and pass on the intangible cultural heritage of Xiangyun silk techniques. This approximately 160-acre "Guangzhou Agricultural Park" centers around a 90-acre comprehensive zone dedicated to the integration of production, education, and research in Xiangyun silk.
Here, visitors can witness the complete traditional dyeing and finishing process of Xiangyun silk—the famous "three rounds of steaming, nine rounds of boiling, and eighteen rounds of sun-drying." This hands-on and visual experience makes the park a popular destination for family outings and school educational trips.
As one of China's four major Xiangyun silk production bases, Lanhe Town in Nansha, located at the mouth of the Pearl River, boasts a long history of Xiangyun silk production. This legacy is rooted in its characteristic Lingnan riverfront landscape and historical background as a settlement of the Danjia (boat-dwelling) community.
Its uniquely pristine and unpolluted river mud provides a natural guarantee for producing high-quality Xiangyun silk. Since its peak sales during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, the annual output in the Panyu and Nansha regions had reached 600,000 bolts before the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Today, the Lanhe area of Nansha has become one of the few places in the world that systematically and scientifically preserves the complete traditional craftsmanship of Xiangyun silk. Across its four major production bases (in Zhangsong Village, Heshai Village, Banmei Village, and Dongshen Village of Dongyong Town), vast sun-drying fields and traditional manual workshops are still in operation. These sites fully maintain the dyeing and finishing techniques from the late Qing and early Republican periods.
The Xiangyun silk produced here is renowned for its crisp yet soft texture, along with excellent properties such as water resistance, sun protection, strong color fastness, easy washing and quick drying, and remarkable durability.
Located in Heshai Village, the Xiangyun Silk Cultural Creative Park sits on an open grassy field nestled between the Lanhe Waterway and fruit orchards. The space is large enough to accommodate the sun-drying of over a hundred lengths of Xiangyun silk at once.
First-time visitors are often awestruck by the sight before them: the silk cloth rippling gently in the breeze, sunlight spilling over the green grass, and the brick-red fabric displaying subtle variations in shade—all coming together to form a breathtaking scene.
NALANGE CHRONICLES
Editor-in-Chief: Wang Xuan
Photographer: Xiao Tie
Calligrapher: Zhi Ming
Costumes: WURAY MIRACLE, YUNSHA STAR RHYME
Dedicated to promoting Xiangyunsha silk as China’s intangible cultural heritage.
Email: 1399229194@qq.com
