More than 700 years ago, Huang Daopo crossed the sea from Wunijing, Songjiang to Ya Prefecture, today’s Sanya, Hainan.

She spent three decades on the island, learning and refining advanced cotton spinning and weaving techniques. When she returned home, those skills helped transform Songjiang and the wider Yangtze River Delta into a major textile center.

Her story is more than a chapter in textile history. It is a story of movement, exchange and shared growth, a single cotton thread connecting Hainan, Shanghai and the world.