Tailors make small town famous for women's pants

WUHAN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Located in central China's Hubei Province, the small town of Maozui sees over 100 million pairs of women's pants sold globally every year.

It was awarded the title of "China's women's pants town" by China National Textile and Apparel Council this year. The output value of related-industry is about 7 billion yuan (about 992.32 million U.S. dollars), accounting for 70 percent of the total output value of the town.

Influenced by the reform and opening up in the 1980s, many tailors from Maozui Town traveled to Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, to make a living with their excellent tailoring skills, which later won Maozui the reputation as the "hometown of tailors."

Following the trend, Deng Zhigang started a business in Wuhan's major shopping site Hanzheng Street in 1999, when he was only 19. From leading a team of tailors to owning a big pants factory, it took about a decade.

"I moved back to Maozui Town in 2010 to open a new factory. Many fellow-townsmen working in Hanzheng Street chose to return as an upgrading project was launched there in 2011," Deng recalled, noting that from then on, a women's pants production cluster was taking shape in Maozui.

Today, the garment industrial park in Maozui covers over 156 hectares, employing about 26,500 persons.

"Working here brings me a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan, and it is also convenient to take care of the elderly and children," said Xie Li, a worker in the industrial park.

"In the first half of 2022, the town achieved an industrial output value of 3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.3 percent, and the industrial added value increased by 19 percent," said the town mayor Peng Cheng.

To promote the development of the industrial park, the local government has rolled out a series of preferential policies, such as offering enterprises easier access to financing and talent cultivation.

"There are also entertainment venues inside the park, including cinemas and Karaoke, to attract young people," said Ding Hui, chairman of a local garment company.

Meanwhile, the town has cooperated with local educational institutes.

"We not only introduce intelligent devices but also designers graduated from universities, as we understand that the brand and design help gain more profits for a pair of pants," said Bie Te, a general manager of a local company.

"Our clothing-related majors have close cooperation with clothing enterprises in Maozui. We tailor training and cultivate talents for them," said Tao Hui, dean of the School of Fashion at Wuhan Textile University.