Spinning Silk
A Uigar man in Kashgar, Xinjing Provence China, spins silk thread from silk worm cocoons. The cocoons are boiled or at least softened in very hot water and by scooping them around a bit, the silk fiber forms. Several (4 to 8 ) strands from several cocoons are twisted together and spun. Well, that is my explanation. The cocoons are about the size of a large pecan. It is amazing that anyone thought of making a fiber from the secretions from a moth pupa. I’ve read that Ancient Chinese guarded the secret of making silk the way we guard the secrets of technology and weaponry. One day someone smuggled some silk worms to anther country. I think it was to Turkey. It always happens, doesn’t it?
When I was in Burma, we went to a silk factory where silk is made from Lotus stems. It is more expensive than regular silk. We watched the women make it. I’ll show you that tomorrow.
I liked visiting Kashgar. It’s kind of a cross between China and Turkey. The Uigars are Muslim and the Chinese persecute them because they think there is oil in Xinjiang Provence. Much of the town of Kashgar has been destroyed to make room for modern buildings…the Chinese have done this. It is a shame because they have destroyed much of what is interesting to see.
We visited a Uigar family. We walked down narrow lanes where the houses were hidden behind high walls. Inside the gate was a patio with a small pool for gold fish. Like a Persian family might have. Inside the home was similar to Moroccan homes that I have visited.
The food in this area is quite spicy and the meat is mainly lamb. Our Chinese guide called it “Muslim food” and she didn’t like it. To be honest, the food in the rest of China has unbelievable variety and the menu here was more limited. But right now, I’d love to have a plateful of spicey noodles.