Recently, when I walked into the silk capital of England, I felt the efforts of local entrepreneurs and folk artists to continue the silk culture and seek to broaden the road of cooperation. Macclesfield is located in Cheshire, northwest England, with a population of about 50,000. The 18th and 19th centuries were the heyday of the town's silk industry, with more than 70 silk factories at one point.

Today, although there are not many silk factories in the town, silk is still the most eye-catching element here: the apartment building is named "Silk House", the shopping plaza is named "Silk Retail Park", and the ring road is named "Silk House". "Silk Road", even fish and chips restaurants are named after "Silk Fried Food".

In the tourist information center of the town, a silk painting resembling Chinese fan embroidery attracted many tourists. Pink flowers are painted on a thin silk cloth, next to a butterfly. The piece was hand-dyed by local silk artist Ruth Lear.

There are many folk artists like Lier active in the town, who are dedicated to inheriting the traditional skills of silk manufacturing. Jeff Coghlan is one of them. Cogren told reporters that the small cultural and creative company he runs is trying to integrate ancient silk elements with modern art, such as making various greeting cards with ancient silk patterns as the background.

On August 11, workers work in a silk factory in Macclesfield, England

In the UK, many people also regard Macclesfield as the westernmost stretch of the ancient Silk Road in Europe. Elements of the ancient Silk Road also frequently appear on local souvenirs such as coasters and tea towels. The reporter saw this text on a coaster: "The ancient Silk Road extends from Xi'an, China to Macclesfield."

During the conversation, Cogren shared with reporters the "indissoluble bond" between the town and China. He said that in the past, many local silk factories imported a large amount of silk raw materials from China, and in recent years, many Chinese tourists have come to Macclesfield to explore the history of silk. "Britain and China need this kind of cultural exchange".

There is still a small silk industry in Macclesfield today. One of the textile companies, Adam Lee, combines traditional screen printing techniques with modern digital printing techniques to produce high-end silk fabrics. The company's chief executive, Telo Manukian, told reporters that the company has been cooperating with China for 15 years and that 80% of the silk raw materials are imported from China because "there are the best quality silk fabrics in the world".

On August 11, in a silk factory in Macclesfield, England, workers displayed silk products

Manu Kian has visited China many times, and he is deeply impressed by the development of China's silk weaving industry. "I first visited China 15 years ago... When I went back to China in 2018, I was amazed by the improvement in the hardware facilities of Chinese companies." In Manukian's view, the Belt and Road Initiative has benefited Macclesfield. He said that he is happy to see more cooperation between the two countries.

In fact, in Macclesfield, silk is not only an industry, but also a cultural link. In June 2022, the British Silk Road Horizon Foundation, the governing body of the British Shaanxi Chamber of Commerce, invited representatives from the British cultural, political and business circles and international students to gather in Macclesfield, and held a Silk Road-themed online event with Beilin District, Xi'an City. The following combined dialogue activities.

Jiao Bo, executive chairman of the Shaanxi Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom, said that the exchange between Xi'an and Macclesfield is aimed at promoting investment promotion, which not only brings more opportunities for cultural exchanges and trade exchanges between the two sides, but also helps Chinese students in the UK to innovate and start businesses, strengthen social practice. Editor/He Yuting