Weaving history

To preserve this craft, the couple scoured the city for Songjiang cloth and purchased whatever they could find. One of their unique finds, says Yang Panhong, was a cotton cloth dowry kept in a camphor wood box for 60 years.

"The cloth was woven by an elderly person's mother for her wedding. I can still smell the scent of camphor wood on the cloth. It's a piece of treasure," she recalls.

In 2016, Yang Panhong quit her job at a Japanese company and focused on her dream of revitalizing this craft. Four years later, she and her husband opened the gallery. To raise awareness of this cloth among younger generations, the couple has been cooperating with universities, including East China Normal University and Shanghai International Studies University, inviting local craftsmen to demonstrate the techniques used in weaving clothes using this fabric, and holding exhibitions and workshops.