What is Xinjiang cotton?

What is Xinjiang cotton?

　Everyone loves to wear clothes made from cotton, because they feel comfortable. But do you know where cotton comes from?

　It is said that the Indian people harvested¹ cotton for the first time, but China, best known for its silk, is now the world’s second largest cotton producer. And Xinjiang is home to our country’s largest cotton field.

　Every year, the harvest begins in early September and lasts around 50 days until late October. In 2020, the cotton in Xinjiang reached 5.161 million tonnes. That’s over 87% of country’s output². Xinjiang is famous for its long-staple cotton³. It is top-class and many factories around the world buy it every year.

　In the past, people mainly picked the cotton by hand, but now more and more people use machines. In northern Xinjiang, over 80% of the cotton is harvested by machine thanks to the development of technology.

　After bags of cotton are packed and taken to different factories, they become clothes, toys and other things that we see in our daily life.

Notes:

1. harvest v. 收获 2. output n. 产量 3. 意为：长绒棉