Holding the Silk Festival is naturally related to silk. It is recognized by historians that there are three "Silk Roads" in the history of China: the Northern Silk Road, the Maritime Silk Road and the Southern Silk Road. Among them, the Southern Silk Road refers to "the ancient ptomaine road in the middle of Shu", where Shu refers to Sichuan in China, and ptomaine is an ancient Indian name. Some scholars believe that Chengdu was the distribution center of silk trade at that time, while Nanchong, not far away, produced a large amount of silk, which was mainly exported through Chengdu except for its own use. So Nanchong is probably the starting point of the Southern Silk Road. Although this conclusion is inconclusive, Nanchong silk has a long history. Li Yunxia, the former office of Nanchong Cocoon and Silk Company, wrote in the article Tracing the Source of Nanchong Silk: Nanchong Silk originated in ancient times, rose in Qin and Han Dynasties, lingered in Sui and Tang Dynasties, flourished in Tang and Song Dynasties, stagnated in Yuan Dynasty and perfected in Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, the real peak of development was after the founding of New China, especially in the twenty years since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party. The sericulture and silk production in Nanchong continues to develop at an unprecedented speed. According to Nanchong Silk, Nanchong is one of the four major sericulture production bases in China and 15 silk production and export base. From the end of1980s to the beginning of1990s, the annual output of fresh cocoons was 27,500 tons, and the amount of silk reeling was 1 19000 silk.
"At that time, from the cultural intersection of Wuxing Garden to the cultural road opposite Yu Ying Road and Beihu Road, a commercial street was formed." Referring to the first Silk Festival in Nanchong, Wu Tonghui, an old man living in Huashi Street recalled. Wu Tonghui, who is over 70 years old, is a retired worker in No.3 Silk Factory. Because his home is close to Wenhua Road, he usually goes through this road when going out for business. According to the old man's memory, during the first Silk Festival in Nanchong, there were booths on both sides of the whole cultural road. Nanchong's native products and locally made goods are dazzling. "For a few days, this road was so crowded that it was impossible to walk." The cultural road is far less spacious than it is now. Restricted by conditions, the trade fair, the highlight of the first Silk Festival in Nanchong, is located on this street, and the silk exhibition halls of all delegations are located in the district bureau of retired veteran cadres in the middle of the street. "At that time, counties (cities) organized groups to participate in the Silk Festival, and each delegation designated an exhibition area on the cultural road. In order to facilitate the trade show, all delegations set up booths on the spot without exception. " Zhou, vice chairman of the Langzhong Silkworm Breeding Farm Trade Union, recalled that as a member of the Langzhong delegation, he brought goods to Nanchong to participate in the exhibition in order to promote the products of Langzhong vinegar factory. Luzhou Vinegar Factory at that time evolved from the first branch of Langzhong Baoning Vinegar Factory more than 10 years ago. "At that time, we all sold bulk vinegar, and the vinegar fragrance floated half the street. Many Nanchong citizens lined up to buy vinegar. " Zhou said to him. Nanchong Daily reported this grand occasion.
"At that time, many foreign businessmen also came to the Silk Festival. There are several silk enterprises in Chengdu that set up stalls on the cultural road, and the business is not bad. " Wang Liang, former chief engineer of Nanchong Cocoon and Silk Company and deputy director of the provincial sericulture and silk engineering technology research center, recalled that the first Nanchong Silk Festival was full of commercial spirit, which truly embodied silk culture, commercial singing and opera, and its influence spread all over the country. Liu Weijun told reporters that during the first Silk Festival, most of more than 70 silk enterprises in Nanchong participated in the exhibition. "The company invited nearly 300 foreign businessmen, mainly from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Hong Kong." During the period, the transaction volume of the silk industry in the whole region exceeded 270 million yuan.
The fashion model contest is intoxicating.
Today's Beihu Park Square is directly opposite. It was a three-story building named Hong Kong City, which was also the most upscale entertainment place in Nanchong at that time. At that time, Nanchong Silk World was under construction. Due to the limited space, one of the highlights of the first Silk Festival-the Fashion Model Contest had to be held in Hong Kong City. The first Silk Festival in Nanchong held a fashion model competition, and the participating units were mainly silk enterprises. In addition to setting up fashion model teams in counties (cities), silk enterprises all over the country have also set up teams. At the same time, some qualified county-owned silk enterprises also joined the team. In the advertisement of the competition, the words "swimsuit performance, three-point performance" are particularly eye-catching, so that it is hard to get a ticket for the performance every day.
"At that time, the organizing committee planned to perform three performances every day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. However, there were too many people watching the game later. A ticket for 10 yuan was not low at that time. At that time, the average monthly salary of government agencies was only tens of yuan, but the tickets for each game had already been sold out. " Li Wei, a member of the organizing committee at that time, said that people came to him for tickets every day, so he had to hide. In order to meet the needs of the audience to watch the game, the organizing Committee temporarily decided to add two games every day, which made the situation better. In fact, the fashion models participating in the competition are not professionals, mainly employees of various silk enterprises in Nanchong. Silk enterprises are labor-intensive enterprises and places where women workers are concentrated. In Nanchong silk industry, which used to be called "100,000 Silk Troops", women workers accounted for the vast majority, including many young women workers. At that time when people's minds were not completely open, it was not surprising that the swimsuits and three-point styles of the contestants in the fashion model contest became the targets of people's pursuit.
According to Wang, then deputy secretary of the Party Committee and deputy director of Nanchong Silk Factory and now general manager of Sichuan Yige Company, there were more than 20 members of the fashion model team formed by the factory at that time, all from various production workshops. "There is a girl who is a student of the regional catering technical school and works as an intern in the food group of the factory. When the model team was set up in the factory, we looked for players everywhere. " Wang said that because the girl's height, appearance and temperament meet the standards, the factory model team absorbed her into the team. After short-term training, the girl performed well in the competition and won the individual championship in one fell swoop. The public is deeply impressed by the first Silk Festival, with many guests and hot sales. This is Wang's deep impression of Nanchong's first Silk Festival. In the eyes of this 60-year-old diaosi, the diaosi Festival held in Nanchong for the first time since the founding of New China is impressive. "Only Nanchong Silk Factory signed a sales contract with the merchants during the festival, amounting to nearly 40 million."