The West Lake silk umbrella, with bamboo as its frame and silk as the surface, is light and elegant, beautiful in shape, convenient to carry, and has been praised as the "Flower of West Lake." The umbrella has a very long history in China. It is said that more than 4,000 years ago during the time of the Yellow Emperor, umbrellas were already made. In ancient times, umbrellas were also called "covers." Like fans, they were initially made from bird feathers. With the emergence of silk fabrics, they gradually began to use gauze and silk for making umbrellas.

After the invention of paper, oil-paper umbrellas became popular. Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the umbrella industry in China developed greatly. From this time on, many novels and operas have mentioned umbrellas. As everyone knows, the story of Xu Xian borrowing an umbrella in the legend of "Madame White Snake" took place by the Broken Bridge at West Lake in Hangzhou.

The West Lake silk umbrella was created in the early 1930s. According to some stories, it was invented by Zhu Zhenfei, a worker at the Du Jinsheng Silk Factory. Because of its proper materials and meticulous craftsmanship, it quickly gained popularity upon its release. In the spring of 1935, the first workshop specializing in making silk umbrellas appeared in Hangzhou, known as the famous "Zhu's Umbrella Workshop." After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the state-owned West Lake Umbrella Factory of Hangzhou was established, and the West Lake Silk Umbrella Group of the Hangzhou Institute of Arts and Crafts was also founded. There are more than 400 workers and over 10 researchers, producing about 600,000 silk umbrellas annually, of which two-thirds are exported. Due to the improvement of the craftsmanship, the silk umbrellas have become even more exquisite. Although various automatic umbrellas that open and close easily have appeared in the international market, the West Lake silk umbrellas still win people's favor with their unique style.

The West Lake silk umbrella uses high-quality materials and is meticulously crafted. Its round umbrella surface is made of specially processed silk fabric. This silk fabric is as thin as a cicada's wing, finely woven, breathable, sun-resistant, easy to fold, and colorful. There are dozens of colors such as lake blue, ink green, fruit green, and big method. The patterns depict landscapes, scenery, flowers, birds, and figures. The designs include the ten scenic spots of West Lake, ancient beauties, dragons and phoenixes, galloping horses, plum blossoms and sparrows, butterflies, and more. This is something other umbrellas can't match. The umbrella ribs are made from the unique soft bamboo of southern China. This bamboo is fine and clean, with a jade-like luster, and won't bend even under the scorching sun. The colors of the umbrellas include red, vermilion red, peach red, sky blue, orange yellow, and more than 20 other colors. To create an aesthetically pleasing West Lake silk umbrella, there are three main stages: selecting bamboo, making the umbrella ribs, and attaching the umbrella surface. Selecting bamboo is commonly known as "selecting bamboo." Every year before the White Dew (a traditional Chinese solar term), experienced craftsmen from the umbrella factory go to areas like Yuhang, Fenghua, Anji, and Deqing, where soft bamboo grows. They climb mountains and cross valleys, searching through the bamboo forests to select soft bamboo with a growth period of more than three years, with a diameter of five to six centimeters, uniform color, no shaded or scarred surfaces. Bamboo that is too young, too old, too large, or too small cannot be used. It's truly "one in a hundred." Each such bamboo is only used for the middle section of 2 to 4 segments for the umbrella ribs. Processing the bamboo into umbrella ribs involves more than a dozen steps, including polishing the bamboo, splitting the long ribs, weaving, shaping, splitting the thin bamboo strips, milling grooves, splitting short ribs, drilling holes, etc. A silk umbrella has 35 ribs, each 4 millimeters wide. If a segment of bamboo is split into 36 ribs, then "pulling out the ribs" is needed to keep the bamboo tube smooth and the joints flat. Attaching the umbrella surface involves 16 steps, including sewing the corners, stretching the surface, mounting, cutting the edges, threading, painting, folding the umbrella, sticking the green lining, installing the handle, wrapping the top, fitting the head, adding the handle, and punching the nail hole. Each step must be done with full attention and no carelessness. The finished umbrella weighs only half a jin (approximately 250 grams). When folded, the colorful silk surface is not visible, and the umbrella ribs return to a simple, elegant piece of bamboo, with the joints clearly visible, looking very modest and elegant. When opened, the umbrella surface is colorful. Some are crimson like the rising sun, others are blue like the clear sky, and some are emerald green like a clear pond. It is truly a feast for the eyes.