Silk Guild Hall

Silk Guild Hall

The Silk Guild Hall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Silk Guild Hall is located to the east of Guanghui Bridge and is the earliest and most influential guild among the commercial organizations in Nanxun.

In the spring of the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1865), local silk merchants such as Zhuang Zushou petitioned the provincial governor Jiang Yiliu (also known as Jiang Yilu) for approval to establish the Nanxun Silk Bureau. Its purpose was to collect and remit taxes and protect the interests of silk merchants, making it the first guild established by silk merchants in Huzhou City.

In the 28th year of the Guangxu reign (1902), land was purchased near Guanghui Bridge (also known as Zhangwangmiao Bridge) and a three-bay building was constructed for office use. It was completed in the first year of the Republic of China (1912), at a cost of over 80,000 silver taels, funded by contributions from every bale of exported silk.

In the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916), the Silk Bureau was renamed the Silk Guild, also referred to as the Silk Guild Hall. To this day, the English inscription “SILKGUILD” can still be seen above the main gate of the Silk Guild Hall.

The main hall, called “Duanyi Hall,” features a post-and-lintel wooden structure. The roof is of the hip-and-gable style, standing 15 meters high. The front four pillars are made of single pieces of long rectangular stone slabs. The hall is spacious and airy, capable of hosting banquets for 54 tables. Every April, the Silkworm King Festival is held here, gathering hundreds of local silk industry workers to worship the Silkworm Deity together and pray for a prosperous silk harvest.

Two Western-style buildings were constructed on the north and south sides of the main hall, serving as offices for the Silk Industry Primary School. The front section of the Silk Guild Hall was destroyed by fire in the early years of the People’s Republic of China, but the rest of the structures have been well preserved. The site is now occupied by the Nanxun Town Central School.

Nanxun Town: Nanxun is a prosperous and culturally vibrant ancient town in the Jiangnan region. Its geographical coordinates are between 120°25’–120°26’ east longitude and 30°52’–30°53’20” north latitude. Located by Taihu Lake and bordering Suzhou, it serves as the eastern gateway for Huzhou to connect with Shanghai’s Pudong area. The Changhushen waterway and National Highway 318 run through the town, giving it a superior geographical environment and convenient land and water transportation. The town covers a total area of 141.3 square kilometers, governs 51 administrative villages and 10 residential communities, with a total population of 116,000 and cultivated land area of 122,500 mu. In 2000... More detailed information about Nanxun Town++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units