I. Two Faces of Sichuan's Textile Industry

Sichuan's textile industry is often associated in public perception with Shu brocade (Shujin) and Shu embroidery (Shuxiu), both recognized as national intangible cultural heritage. This is accurate but incomplete. Shu brocade weaving dates back over two thousand years, and the Shu Brocade and Embroidery Museum in Qingyang District, Chengdu, continues to sustain its living tradition. Shu embroidery, known for fine stitching and soft coloration, has formed clusters of workshops in Pidu District, Chengdu.

Yet in terms of industrial output and employment, the center of gravity in Sichuan's textile sector has long shifted from Chengdu's heritage workshops to the silk-reeling workshops of Nanchong and the chemical fiber plants of Yibin.

In 2023, revenue from above-scale enterprises in Sichuan's textile and apparel sector approached 100 billion yuan, ranking first among western provinces. Behind this figure lie two distinct yet mutually reinforcing paths: the Nanchong silk cluster rooted in sericulture and silk reeling, and the Yibin modern chemical fiber base centered on bio-based fibers.

II. Nanchong: Southwestern China's Largest Silk Cluster

Nanchong holds the designation "China Silk Capital" granted by the China National Silk Association — the only city in central and western China to carry this title. This is not a ceremonial recognition. Nanchong accounts for 37% of Sichuan's pure silk fabric output and 11.7% of national output, with silk weaving capacity consistently among the highest in the country.

The cluster's geographic core lies in Gaoping District and Jialing District. Gaoping's Dujing subdistrict was named "China's Silk Capital No. 1 Silk Town" as early as 2009, with enterprises such as Liuhe Silk Group anchoring an integrated local chain covering silk reeling, weaving, and dyeing. Jialing District focuses more on scaled sericulture: in 2023, the district had 49 silk-related enterprises, including 20 above-scale firms, with total industrial chain output exceeding 4 billion yuan.

Raw material supply is well documented. In 2022, Nanchong distributed 421,000 silkworm egg cards, producing 18.5 million kilograms of cocoons at an average price of 44.62 yuan per kilogram. That year, the city's silk textile imports and exports reached 750 million yuan, while 76 above-scale silk textile and apparel enterprises generated output exceeding 29 billion yuan, representing 9.5% of the city's total above-scale industrial output.

Nanchong's supply chain spans the full vertical chain from mulberry cultivation and cocoon procurement to silk reeling, weaving, and export. Premium silk fabric from Nanchong holds a meaningful share in the Indian and Pakistani markets, making silk exports one of the few categories from this city with genuine international competitiveness.

III. Yibin: Chemical Fiber Leader and Bio-Based Transition

Yibin's textile industry follows a different trajectory. With Silieia Group as its core, Yibin has built a chemical fiber system centered on viscose filament (rayon), and has in recent years accelerated its pivot toward bio-based fiber.

Viscose filament serves as a lower-cost substitute for real silk, widely used in apparel fabrics and decorative textiles. In 2024, domestic viscose filament total capacity reached approximately 250,000 tonnes per year, concentrated among four enterprises. Yibin Silieia (including its subsidiary Yibin Haiste) held a market share of approximately 21%, placing it alongside Xinxiang Chemical Fiber and Jilin Chemical Fiber as one of the top three producers. In 2023, Yibin's textile industry output reached 22.3 billion yuan, with the Silieia-anchored cluster accounting for approximately 50% of Sichuan's provincial textile and apparel revenue.

In 2024, rising demand driven by Guochao and Guofeng consumer trends prompted Silieia, Jilin Chemical Fiber, and Xinxiang Bailu to jointly raise rayon prices by 1,000 yuan per tonne in March — a direct indication of the pricing leverage that market leaders gain as industry concentration rises.

Yibin's chemical fiber sector is also making a strategic bet on bio-based transformation. Silieia Group is advancing bamboo pulp-based cellulose fiber R&D, leveraging Yibin's local bamboo resources to establish a differentiated competitive position beyond viscose filament. This direction aligns with China's carbon neutrality policies and circular economy priorities, though commercial-scale economics have yet to be fully proven.

IV. Liangshan: The Other Cocoon Supply Pole

Beyond Nanchong, Sichuan has another sericulture region often overlooked: Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Ningnan County in Liangshan is Sichuan's largest sericulture county: in 2023, the county raised 328,800 silkworm egg cards, produced 30,000 dan of cocoons, and achieved 3 billion yuan in output from cocoon, silk, and related industries. Liangshan cocoons flow largely as raw material to downstream silk-reeling bases in Nanchong and Yibin, with limited deep-processing capacity locally, forming a clear vertical cooperation pattern with Nanchong.

In 2023, Sichuan's provincial silkworm cocoon output reached 86,400 tonnes, ranking second nationally (behind Guangxi). This abundance of sericulture resources provides the Nanchong silk cluster with stable local raw material supply — a structural advantage that silk-producing regions without local mulberry cultivation cannot replicate.

V. Challenges and Transformation Pressures

Sichuan's textile industry faces structural divergence. On the Nanchong side, silk reeling and grey silk fabric are labor-intensive with relatively low added value; premium silk consumer goods in design and branding remain concentrated in Hangzhou and Suzhou. On the Yibin side, viscose filament sits in the mid-stream of the supply chain, exposed to upstream pulp price volatility and downstream weaving demand cycles, with thin margins and capacity expansion constrained by tightening environmental regulations.

Intangible heritage industries such as Shu brocade and Shu embroidery face an entirely different challenge: aging artisan populations and extremely limited market scale, with no clear pathway yet from "cultural display" to scalable commercial product. Chengdu is exploring integration of heritage crafts with cultural tourism and e-commerce, but the industrial scale effect remains modest.

Additionally, Sichuan lacks comprehensive fabric dyeing and finishing, accessories supply, and finished garment export infrastructure. The province currently exports primarily grey fabric, raw materials, and semi-finished goods, positioning it at the lower-to-middle tiers of the global textile value chain.

VI. Industrial Distribution and Procurement Perspective

Sichuan's textile factories are concentrated in the following areas: Gaoping District and Jialing District, Nanchong (silk reeling, weaving); Cuiping District and Pingshan County, Yibin (chemical fiber, yarn); Ningnan County, Liangshan (cocoon primary processing); Pidu District and Qingyang District, Chengdu (Shu embroidery workshops, premium silk fabric); Mianyang and Dazhou (cotton spinning, general garment accessories).

Sales teams supplying upstream goods to Sichuan textile manufacturers can use Tianxia Gongchang to filter factory directories and decision-maker contacts by "Sichuan Province × Textile Industry," identifying which segment — silk reeling, chemical fiber, or weaving — a target manufacturer operates in, and tailoring raw material, equipment, or accessory proposals accordingly.

Data Sources

  • Tianxia Gongchang (Sichuan Province textile industry factory directory and industrial data)
  • Nanchong Municipal Government Affairs Network, Key Industrial Sector: Silk Textile and Apparel, June 2023
  • Jialing District People's Government, Nanchong, Full Silk Industry Chain Output Exceeds 4 Billion Yuan, 2024
  • Sichuan Economic Daily, Sichuan: "One Bolt of Cloth" Weaves a 100-Billion-Yuan Industrial Landscape, September 2024
  • Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce, Guiding Opinions on the 14th Five-Year Plan for Sichuan's Cocoon and Silk Industry, November 2021
  • Ningnan County Government Affairs Network, Ningnan: Sericulture Industry Paves a New Silk Road for the New Era, May 2024
  • Gelonghui / Hangyan Research, Domestic Viscose Filament Capacity Concentrated Among 4 Enterprises, April 2024
  • Sina Finance, Nanchong Silk Textile Import/Export and Above-Scale Enterprise Data, December 2023