Visitors tour at a pavillion of silk production during the Việt Nam-Asia Silk Festival in Hội An City. — VNS Photo Công Thành

HỘI AN — Craftsmen, experts, traders and designers of silk from China, Japan, India, Myanmar, France, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and seven traditional silk villages in Việt Nam joined together yesterday in the first Việt Nam-Asia Silk Culture Festival at Hội An Silk Village.

It’s the largest meeting of the Asian silk trade ever to be held in the central region with the participation of Việt Nam and the world’s most famous silk centres.

“It’s a great opportunity for silk producers, exporters and importers, designers, intermediaries, and government agencies related to silk promotion to share experiences for the future development of the silk trade,” said Chairman of the Asia Silk Alliance, Dilip Barooah.

“The festival also opens up chances for silk centres in Asia and the world by building up connections in production and export,” he said.

He added that the Việt Nam-Asia Silk Festival was held with an aim of promoting the silk trades of China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar and Việt Nam.

He said the festival was a great opportunity that had taken him to the peaceful and beautiful ancient city of Hội An.

The Director of the Hangzhou Silk Culture and Brand Research Centre, Fei Jianming, expressed thanks to authorities of Quảng Nam Province and Hội An City for their strong support in hosting the festival.

He said the event would help connect world silk centres and Hội An, as well as boosting chances of co-operation among silk producers and traders worldwide. 

Chairman of Kyoto Silk Association Takao Watanabe said he hoped the silk trade would develop quickly in coming years to become the prosperous industry that was seen over 500 years ago.

The two-day festival will also see a fashion show, a seminar on silk history and development with presentations and discussions on improving silk yield, silk branding and marketing, silk export development, and silk standards, certification and regulations.

The festival also includes displays from elegant French fashion designers, Myanmar silk with special patterns, Cashmere silk from India, Nanchong Yinhai silk and Hangzhou Jiahe silk textiles from China, and silks from Nishijin, Japan.

The famous silk villages of Vạn Phúc, Nha Xá, Phùng Xá, Mã Châu, Tân Châu Mỹ Nghiệp and Bảo Lộc of Việt Nam will also be represented.

Last year, Hội An Silk Village represented Việt Nam and joined the Asia Silk Alliance as one of seven founding members with responsibility for linking Vietnamese silk enterprises with the wider Asian silk community.

The silk village, located at 28 Nguyễn Tất Thành Street in Hội An, is a silk-weaving centre and a living museum of the ancient trade in the central region.

It was voted the third best attraction in Hội by travel website TripAdvisor in 2014.

The two-hectare area cultivates 40 strains of mulberry, whose leaves are feed for silk worms, including some that the former rulers of the area, the Champa kingdom, used to produce their best quality silk. — VNS

Smooth as: A craft woman demonstrates hand-made silk production, while visitors explore a live show of the silk production process at the Việt Nam-Asia Silk Festival in Hội An City. The festival has drawn the participation of silk producers, exporters, designers and businesses from China, Japan, India, Myanmar, France, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and seven traditional silk villages in Việt Nam. — VNS Photo Công Thành