Gesi tapestry

Gesi is a kind of patterned tapestry made from silk. It uses raw silk and colored boiled-off silk and is made by a small bamboo-leaf-shaped shuttle.

Suzhou’s Gesi craftsmanship can be traced back to as early as the South Song Dynasty. In the past, farmers in Likou, Guangfu and Lumu made Gesi as a part time work. The technique was passed down from father to son, and so on. During its peak, there were more than 200 silk workers. Most of the products were used by officials and dignitaries.

Today, Suzhou Gesi, based on the great traditional products by famous silk craftsmen since the Song Dynasty, saw new technique and peony screens, halls, people and landscape with modern themes and various forms. The copy of Ming Emperor Wanli’s Gesi cloak was awarded the top prize of craftsmanship. A Gesi tapestry featuring Mao Zedong’s poet “Xijiang Moon, Jinggangshan”, a huge project for Mao Zedong’s memorial hall, unprecedentedly used pure thin gold thread for the background and black gold thread for the poet, highlighting its elegance, grandeur, powerful strokes and moderate saturation, bringing Gesi technique to a new level.

Recommended place: Suzhou Embroider Research Institute

Address: No 262, Jingde Road, Suzhou

Tel: 0512-67272297,0512-65222460