County in C China's Henan cultivates thriving down feather industry

Photo shows down feather products on display in Taiqian county, Puyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Taiqian county committee)

Taiqian county, administered by Puyang city in central China's Henan Province, was established in 1978. In the 1970s and 1980s, migrant workers from Taiqian discovered a business opportunity while working in northeast and northwest China. They noticed locals discarding leftover feathers after slaughtering ducks and geese, while down-processing factories in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan district, east China's Zhejiang Province, had a high demand for these feathers.

Photo shows the Jindi River in Taiqian county, Puyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Taiqian county committee)

Seizing this opportunity, the migrant workers began buying duck and goose feathers from villages in the northeast and northwest. Among them was 16-year-old Yang Qingsheng, who, with fellow villagers, launched his own down feather business. They traveled from Shandong Province to Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in the north, then to Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces for feather trading.

By the 1990s, the small county of less than 300,000 people had formed a "feather purchasing army" of over 30,000 individuals, reaching across the entire country.

Gradually, various workers from Taiqian, including Yang, began establishing factories in the county. The local government in Taiqian recognized the industry's potential to boost economic development, leading to its establishment in the county.

After more than 40 years, Taiqian's down feather industry has experienced robust growth. It now boasts over 190 down and apparel processing enterprises, including 41 above the designated size.

Annually, 160,000 tonnes of deep-processed down feather raw materials and 35 million pieces of down clothing and feather craft products are exported from Taiqian worldwide, establishing it as a renowned down production and processing base in China.

Photo shows the National Cotton Down and Textile Apparel Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center in Taiqian county, Puyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo/Wang Weifeng)

Photo shows down feather products on display in Taiqian county, Puyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo/Liu Peng)

Bai Zongcang, president of the Taiqian Feather and Down Association, noted that China produces 85 percent of the world's down, with Taiqian contributing one-third of the national total. Down from Taiqian is now exported to dozens of countries, including South Korea, the United States, Germany and Australia.

Photo shows the production workshop of a down feather company in Taiqian county, Puyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo/Liu Peng)

In July this year, the industry gained a new opportunity when the Henan Provincial Down and Feather Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, located in the county, was upgraded to the National Cotton, Down and Textile Apparel Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center.

Recent years have seen Taiqian working to create a complete down industrial chain. The county has established a duck breeding and slaughtering base to provide high-quality raw materials, cultivated leading down manufacturing companies, and built a down and clothing processing industrial park.

Photo shows a company that is part of the downstream sector of the down feather industry in Taiqian county, Puyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Taiqian county committee)

Official statistics show that since early 2024, Taiqian has signed contracts for nine high-quality down projects, with an estimated total investment of 3.18 billion yuan ($451 million).

In February, Henan Province released plans for Taiqian's economic development. The county aims to establish the world's largest high-quality down distribution base, China's largest down product processing and production base, and an international down trading center. By 2025, Taiqian targets an income of over 10 billion yuan in the down feather and apparel processing industry.