History of silk and in part replaced natural silk. Following the crisis in Europe, the modernization of sericulture in Japan made it the world's foremost silk producer. By the early 20th century, rapidly industrializing Japan was producing as much as 60 percent of the world's raw silk, most exports shipping through the port of Yokohama. Italy managed to rebound from the crisis, but France was unable. Urbanization in Europe saw many French and Italian agricultural workers leave silk growing for more lucrative factory work. Raw silk was imported from Japan to fill the void. Asian countries, formerly exporters of raw materials (cocoons and
China National Silk Museum China National Silk Museum The China National Silk Museum () is a national-level museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. The China National Silk Museum (CNSM), near the West Lake in Hangzhou, is one of the first national-level museums in China and the largest silk museum in the world, covering an area of 50,000 square meters and a building area of 8,000 square meters. It opened in February 26, 1992, and was extensively refurbished in 2015-2016. As the largest specialized museum on textiles in China, the main goal of CNSM is to research and conserve Chinese textile relics. In 2010 it