After decades of development, Liji Town in Suining County, Xuzhou city has built a thriving adornment industry that employs nearly 100,000 women and generates an annual output value of over 7 billion yuan.
The sector began its growth in 1980s with locals making all kinds of accessories, such as hair pin, earrings and waist ornaments. Local women produced such accessories whenever they have time in “workshops without walls” - by the road, at the square or in their own homes.
Zhao Guangwen, president of Liji Town Accessories Association, said there are more than 200 varieties of accessories and ornaments in the town in a sector that features flexibility in terms of making, work time and space. A dealer usually delivers materials to an agent, who then assigns tasks to craftsperson, collects the finished items and is also responsible for making payment.
For a long time, the sector in Liji Town was mainly in the basic processing stage with small profit margin. In order to solved the bottleneck of the development, the town invested 200 million yuan in 2017 to build an e-commerce industrial park with a total construction area of 86,000 square meters. The park hosts processing, design and development, warehouse and logistics, e-commerce training, business office and other functions. It has trained 330 people to open online stores.
Yue Feng, an online store owner, said that his products are mainly sold to Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions. In Liji, there are 16 dealers like Yue mainly engaged in foreign trade, with an annual sales revenue over 10 million yuan on average.
From "workshops without walls" to a modern e-commerce industrial park, the sector has developed rapidly, with an annual output value of 7 billion yuan. Liji Town has become a classical example in implementing the rural revitalization strategy.
