False eyelash industry thrives in E China's Pingdu

Pingdu, a county-level city administered by Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province, boasts a false eyelash industry with an annual output value of more than 10 billion yuan (about $1.38 billion).

Photo shows false eyelashes produced in Pingdu, a county-level city in east China's Shandong Province. (People's Daily Online/Qiao Shu)

Pingdu produces 120 million pairs of false eyelashes annually. According to statistics, at least 7 out of every 10 pairs of false eyelashes consumed worldwide come from the city.

The false eyelash industry in Pingdu can be traced back to the 1970s. After over 40 years of development, the city has formed a full-fledged false eyelash industrial chain covering false eyelash design, processing, packaging, sales, logistics and foreign trade.

Today, the city is home to more than 5,000 entities involved in the false eyelash industry and over 20,000 processing sites for relevant products. The false eyelash industry has become a pillar industry driving the city's economic growth.

"We receive orders from across the world," said Li Xiangying, head of a false eyelash processing site in Pingdu's Dazeshan town. According to Li, the processing of false eyelashes involves over 10 steps.

Pingdu's false eyelash industry provides employment for over 60,000 people from local communities.

Photo shows false eyelashes produced in Pingdu, a county-level city in east China's Shandong Province. (People's Daily Online/Qiao Shu)

Local companies are keeping pace with market demands by continuously upgrading equipment and making technological innovations, resulting in increasingly high-quality false eyelashes.

Wang Haibo, a rising star in Pingdu's false eyelash industry, has led his research team to develop biodegradable false eyelashes with proprietary technology, earning a patent from the China National Intellectual Property Administration. "Our products are eco-friendly, cost-effective, and comfortable," Wang Haibo said, noting that the products have become hot sellers in the European and American markets.

Currently, false eyelashes produced in Pingdu have been sold to over 50 countries and regions. This success stems from the industry's shift towards mass production that is both factory-based, and order-driven.

In 2021, the China National Light Industry Council awarded Pingdu the honorary title of "China's capital of beauty products (eyelashes) industry - Pingdu."

A technician operates an automatic false eyelash machine in Pingdu, a county-level city in east China's Shandong Province. (People's Daily Online/Qiao Shu)

The local government has provided robust policy, financial and talent support to further boost the development of the false eyelash industry. Two industrial parks and two production bases have been built in Pingdu, systematically promoting the modernization of its false eyelash industry.

On Nov. 20, the Qingdao beauty online new economic industrial park was put into operation. The establishment of the industrial park realized cooperation across the entire false eyelash industrial chain from upstream to midstream to downstream, said Pan Xinyu, head of the industrial park's operational department.

Since the beginning of 2021, the industrial park has collaborated with the Robotics Institute of Zhejiang University to develop intelligent manufacturing equipment and establish digital workshops. Several kinds of machines have been put into use in the industrial park.

Han Songming, head of the industrial park, said it aims to build itself into China's first "false eyelash industrial brain," a platform integrating trading, intelligent manufacturing and logistics.

"We will continue deepening cooperation with research institutes to promote the digitalization and mechanization of the false eyelash industry, while cultivating and attracting sales and research talents," said Wang Congxin, deputy head of the Pingdu Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.