It was during the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911) dynasties that raw silk from Huzhou became a big international trade. Raw silk from Huzhou dominated the market largely because of its super quality. In the middle period of the Ming, Huzhou became the national center of sericulture. Suzhou and Nanjing, two important textile-manufacturing powerhouses in Jiangnan, bought large quantities of raw silk from Huzhou simply because of its super quality. Silk fabric producers in Fujian and Guangdong also relied heavily upon the raw silk supply from Huzhou.

Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain in the north of Zhejiang became the number one national sericulture center essentially because of the advanced techniques used in cultivating mulberry trees, rearing silkworms, and reeling silk from cocoons.

This explains why raw silk from Huzhou sold so well on the international market from the 14th century on. Research indicates that Europe was a major buyer of raw silk from Huzhou in the Ming Dynasty.

In the early decades of the Ming, raw silk was exported to overseas buyers largely through the ports officially designated for international trade such as Guangzhou. However, smuggling was rampant in China’s southeast. In the 16th century, Zhejiang became a center of raw silk from Huzhou between private businesspeople and European traders. The private business people smuggled raw silk to the European traders and raw silk was then shipped to the overseas market. Shuangyu, an island in Zhoushan Archipelago, became an international trade entrepôt. It was built and governed by Portuguese traders who first arrived, and were followed by Spanish and Japanese traders. The smugglers’ paradise was destroyed in 1548 by the Chinese government. For decades, Shuangyu Port in Zhoushan was a major export channel through which raw silk products from Huzhou were shipped to European destinations.

Another major trade center for raw silk export during that time was Macao. Portuguese traders set up a number of international trade routes in Macao, shipping silk products and porcelains to various destinations across the world and brought silver dollars back to China. The major routes included a route from Macao to Lisbon via Malacca, Goa, Cape of Good Hope, a route from Macao to Nagasaki, Japan, and a route from Macao to Manila.

Traders of Fujian played a key role in selling Huzhou silk to the overseas market. A book written in the Ming Dynasty reveals some traders in Zhangzhou, a city in Fujian, were gangsters and traded with Japanese businesspeople. The book documents raw silk from Huzhou among the trade items.

The Southeast Asia also played a key role in shipping silk goods to Europe. Luzon in the Philippines was a transship port of silk trade between China and Europe. Traders from China shipped silk and other goods to the states on Luzon first. Then buyers went there to buy and ship their goods to further destinations. Another key transship port in China’s silk trade with foreign countries was in Pattani, a city on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, near the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand. Chinese traders did business with Hollanders there. A book written in 1617 by a Chinese scholar documents raw silk from Huzhou was a major commodity that changed hands at Pattani. Based on these historical accounts, it can be reasonably deduced that Huzhou silk was shipped to Europe during the Ming Dynasty.