Reviving the lost art of making silk parasols (2)

The Hangzhou silk parasol was created in the 1930s by a local, Zhu Zhengfei.

Zhu established the first silk parasol workshop in 1935. These umbrellas became so popular that the city government established the National Hangzhou West Lake Umbrella Factory. At one time it employed 10 designers and more than 400 staff, who produced 600,000 silk parasols a year. Around two-thirds were exported.

When US President Richard Nixon visited Hangzhou on his historic China trip in 1972, he received a silk parasol as a gift emblematic of China.

Zhang started to learn the craft from Zhu when she was 23 years old.

"I continue with this craft for years because I love it, although it's time consuming and requires patience and passion," she says.

The original silk parasols were only for shade and decoration and they were not water-proof. "Umbrellas in supermarkets and other stores are fashionable, compact and easy to carry, so silk parasols lost popularity in the market," Zhang says.

Another issue was and remains the high price of hand-made pure silk parasols, which are very labor-intensive. Today costs range from 400 yuan (US$64) to 1,000 yuan for one parasol.

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