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China
China is located in East Asia. India is bordered by Mongolia and Russia on the north; Russia and North Korea on the northeast; the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea on the east; the South China Sea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India, Bhutan, and Nepal on the south; Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan on the west, and Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan on the northwest. China covers an area of 9,571,300 sq km (3,695,500 sq mi). As the most populated country in the world, it has a population of 1.2 billion (1998 estimate). The main Chinese centers of rug production are in the north of China, especially in the capital city Beijing.
| It is unclear exactly when and where rug making first began in China; however, the general assumption is that rug weaving was brought into China from Turkestan or Mongolia some time before the late seventeenth century. |
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Chinese rugs were influenced by Persian styles from the early eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century, and after the mid-nineteenth century, Chinese weavers adapted some of their designs to the western taste. Rug production for exportation started in the late nineteenth century in Beijing and early nineteenth century in Tianjan. Tianjan became the center of commercial production from about 1910 to 1930. However, rug production was discontinued between 1930's and 1960's because of the Japanese invasion.
In the present time, Chinese, Persian and French Aubusson
styles are produced in Chinese workshops. China is one of the largest exporters of handmade rugs in the world. Market sizing data from the exporting countries is difficult to obtain, as some of the countries may not track the data or disclose it. Nevertheless, from foreign embassies, industry specialists, and magazine articles, the 1998 rug export estimate for China and Nepal is 500 million dollars. China mainly produces rugs for exportation and not for its local market.
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