Masterpieces of the Gods -- Gold foils of Nanjing

  During the properous years of the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism in China also reached its heights in popularity at this period. In ancient China, the Yangtze River is the cradle of politics, economy and culture. Nanjing, a city which is situated at the lower reaches
of the river and historically known as Jin Ling, Shitou Cheng or Jiang Ning, was the ancient capital of six dynasties. Along with the widespread of Buddhism,the craft of wrapping Buddha statutes in gold foils started to appear around the Nanjing area. As time goes by, where the crafts are passed down through different generations, Nanjing city gained fame for their immaculate gold foils.
  During the South-North Dynasty, gold foils from Nanjing are specifically used for producing Yun Brocades which in turn are used to be decorated on the robes of the emperors. Starting from this period, Nanjing gold foils became one of the royal tributes to the emperors and attained its status as a fashionable item amongst the aristocracy for the next seventeen hundred years.
  Uses for Buddha statutes are even more widespread in the Ming and Qing dynasty. In addition to that, the technology of gold-foil making started to spread overseas during this period. Nanjing became the defacto city to provide gold foils (Yun Brocades) to the emperor palace in the renovation and decoration of buildings and also the making of the emperor's robes.
  The origins of gold-foil making could be traced to the Jiang Ning district of the Nanjing city, and there are a lot more historical accounts that could attest to the importance and applications of Nanjing Gold foils in ancient China.