Romance of silk

A red silk dragon robe modeled on a garment dating back to more than 3,000 years ago. [Photo by Huang Zhiling/China Daily]

There are only three original dahualou looms still in existence in the country. They are in the National Museum of China, the Sichuan Provincial Museum and this Chengdu museum.

To enable visitors to see how workers weave brocade, the Shu Brocade Academy which runs the Chengdu museum has made five replicas of the dahualou looms.

Visitors to the museum can see He Bin, a 52-year-old master weaver, and his apprentices weave brocade with dahualou looms just as the ancient masters had done. Holding the highest professional title in the country's brocade industry, He has worked as a weaver for 34 years.

One of the most impressive displays in the museum is a red silk dragon robe modeled on a garment on the bronze statue of a barefooted man with anklets and clenched fists at the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, also in Sichuan.

The 2.62-meter-high, 180-kilogram statue is thought to represent a king of the Shu kingdom.