Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Recent
++MUTE++
1. Street scenery
2. Various of shoppers at open market
3. Entrance to Jiya Liren Atlas Silk company
4. Various of customers picking their favorite patterns and colors of Atlas Silk
5. Various of Uygur handicraftsmen weaving Atlas Silk fabric
6. Various of craftsman sun drying Atlas Silk fabric

7. SOUNDBITE (Uygur) Memet Mingsiyake, Atlas Silk designer:
"My inspiration usually comes from nature, like from peacocks or pineapples. Around 80 to 90 percent of Atlas Silk patterns for sale in market are designed by me."
8. Various of Memet weaving Atlas Silk fabric

++MUTE++
9. Various of Memet drawing patterns
10. Various of craftsmen dying and weaving Atlas Silk fabric
11. Various of Atlas Silk cloth

12. SOUNDBITE (Uygur) Memet Mingsiyake, Atlas Silk designer:
"We hope to export the Atlas Silk some day and make it even better. I hope that people of whatever religions, nationalities and from whatever regions and countries may like my designs and love to wear the Atlas Silk clothes."

++MUTE++
13. Various of craftsmen weaving Atlas Silk fabric
14. Various of customers picking Atlas Silk cloth

The ancient "Silk Road," a land thoroughfare linking China with the West, has gained new popularity with the rejuvenated craftsmanship of Atlas Silk.

Atlas Silk, with its startling colors and beautiful patterns, is a unique local specialty of Jiya village in Hotan Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Weaving Atlas Silk is a common household skill with the great craftsmanship still strongly resembling that of 2,000 years ago.

Though still not yet the peak tourist season, the local Jiya Liren Atlas Silk company receives groups of customers who flock to the store almost daily to pick up their favorite patterns and colors.

The company still maintains a 300-square-meter exhibition hall and workshop to show visitors the age-old manual silk making craft - boiling cocoons, reeling the strands, spinning the thread, tying and dying the design, and, finally, weaving the fabric.

Memet Mingsiyake is a well-known Atlas Silk designer in Jiya whose works have been greatly appreciated by his peers and have proven popular with customers.

"My inspiration usually comes from nature, like from peacocks or pineapples. Around 80 to 90 percent of Atlas Silk patterns for sale in the market are designed by me," said Memet.

He hopes that Atlas Silk may someday win wider admiration from people across the world.

"We hope to export the Atlas Silk some day and make it even better. I hope that people of whatever religions, nationalities and from whatever regions and countries may like my designs and love to wear the Atlas Silk clothes," said Memet.

The silk's history is recorded in folklore. It's said that a Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) princess, who came to the Western Regions for marriage, concealed the eggs of the silkworm and the seeds of the mulberry in her hair dress when she passed customs as the silk secret was strictly controlled back then. Locals began to culture silkworms and weave silk soon after.

This anecdote is echoed by the findings in Shanpulu Ancient Tomb and Niya Town Relics. The unearthed silk scraps and weaving tools prove the long history of Atlas Silk, which is as long as the Silk Road's, according to some archaeologists.

Its invention may have nothing to do with the princess, but one thing is certain - central China and the western regions had established trade relations as early as Han dynasty.

The history now better reflects the country's thriving Belt and Road Initiative, including both the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt, aiming to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

The initiative will cover and benefit about 4.4 billion people in more than 60 countries, reaching 63 percent of the global population.