|

Renowned as the "crown of Chinese brocade", Song Dynasty (960-1279) brocade now carries the subtle scents of tea and flowers. At Zhejiang Jiayi Textile Technology Co in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, hundreds of looms operate at full speed in a hive of production activity.

According to Yuan Guoren, executive director of the company, a shipment of 10,000 meters of tea-scented Song brocade is ready for delivery to Shanghai. Since the beginning of the new year, orders have seen continuous growth, increasing by over 50 percent year-on-year.

Yuan noted that the tea-scented version is currently the best-seller, with other series available in rose and peony fragrances.

Unlike traditional methods that involve adding the fragrance after production, Jiayi Textile extracts cellulose from tea leaves and flowers to spin into yarn, which is then woven with mulberry silk to create the brocade. This technique results in a fabric that is gentle on the skin and retains a natural, long-lasting fragrance.

The company launches more than 10 original floral patterns each month, with its design database having accumulated hundreds of thousands of patterns. Ping Wenjing from the company's cultural department said they will continue to blend traditional elements with modern styles and plan to develop a series of scented Song brocade cultural and creative products to attract younger consumers.