Xiangyun yarn, a specialty of Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China, and a national geographical indication product.
Xiangyun yarn, also known as "Xiangyun yarn" and originally named "Langsha", is a silk fabric dyed with plant dye potato yam. It is the only silk fabric in the world that is dyed with pure plant dye and is known as the "soft gold" in the textile industry. There are already records about the use of yam in the Tang Dynasty, and Shen Kuo of the Northern Song Dynasty and Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty have both described the dyeing effect of yam. The sericulture and silk reeling industry in Shunde District, Foshan City has a long history and is known as the "Silk Capital of the South". It has fully preserved the dyeing and finishing techniques of Xiangyun yarn. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Guangdong silk had already been exported abroad. Xiangyun yarn has various advantages, such as being refreshing and soft, with good sun and water fastness, strong waterproof properties, easy to wash and dry, dark and dirt resistant, non stick to the skin, lightweight and not prone to wrinkling, soft and bone rich, durable, suitable for hot summer wear, and popular among consumers. It has been widely sold in Europe, America, India, Southeast Asia and other places, and is praised by overseas people as the "black shining pearl" clothing, becoming a famous product of Chinese silk.
On July 6, 2011, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for "Xiangyun yarn".
