How is silk produced through sericulture in Anhui province?

In Anhui province, sericulture—the production of raw silk—is practiced by rearing both the mulberry-feeding moth (Bombyx mori) and the tussah silkworm. This industry, which provides raw materials for products such as Nanjing brocades and Wuhan silk fabrics, has been revived in the region following the disruption of the mid-20th century, when many mulberry trees were removed.1

The general process of sericulture involves two primary components:
* Cultivation: The production of mulberry trees to provide the necessary leaves for the silkworms to feed upon.2
* Rearing: The care of silkworms from the egg stage through the completion of their cocoons.2

Once the silkworms form their cocoons, the larvae are typically killed using steam or hot air to prevent the emerging moth from breaking the continuous silk filament. The raw silk is then extracted by softening the binding protein, sericin, and reeling the filaments from multiple cocoons simultaneously to form a single strand.2