Can a piece of umbrella fabric support a major industry? Qiyang, a county in inland Hunan, answers with a 60% domestic market share, an annual output of one billion meters, and a textile cluster of 159 enterprises that generated 8.094 billion yuan in industrial output in 2025—nearly 18% of local industry. Despite lacking natural raw material advantages, this county is now aiming to turn functional fabrics into a national calling card.
Background
The starting point was modest. In 2012, a small grey fabric workshop with just over a hundred workers was set up in Baishui Town. Over a decade later, that company now operates 4,800 high-speed water-jet looms, produces over one billion meters annually, and has grown into a global leader in umbrella fabric. Its trajectory mirrors Qiyang's evolution from scattered processing to clustered development.
By 2025, Qiyang had gathered 159 textile enterprises, including 41 above-scale firms and 25 specialized, innovative, and high-tech companies. From 2023 to 2025, total industrial output grew at an average annual rate of 11.5%. Baishui Textile Town became the only textile-themed industrial town in Hunan, and the functional fabric cluster earned recognition as a national SME characteristic industry cluster.
A complete industrial chain underpins this scale. Dongjun Textile, for example, expanded from a single process to 16 steps covering spinning, weaving, printing, dyeing, and finishing, forming an end-to-end chain from yarn to finished goods. It also built five DMF and toluene recovery towers, achieving near-zero waste gas emissions. Such vertical integration is rare among county-level textile firms.
Industry Impact
Qiyang's strength lies in umbrella fabric, bag fabric, tent fabric, and high-elasticity materials. The city operates about 6,300 air-jet and water-jet looms, with annual capacities of 1 billion meters for umbrella fabric and 300 million meters each for bag and tent fabric. Beyond Dongjun, Kaisheng Footwear produces 11 million pairs of sports shoes annually, Yian Sports holds a 33% global share in high-end helmets, and Shuofang Sports makes 10 million balls per year—forming a tiered structure of leading enterprises supported by SMEs.
However, hidden structural contradictions persist. The industry is 'strong in the middle, weak at both ends': upstream raw materials like nylon and pre-weaving processing are insufficient, threatening supply chain stability and cost control; downstream high-value outdoor products like jackets and tents remain scarce, limiting access to consumer profits. Supporting services—accessories, public testing, industrial design, and brand channels—are also underdeveloped. This means Qiyang holds power in fabric manufacturing but still needs to strengthen both ends of the value chain.
National policy is opening a window. The 15th Five-Year Plan for Expanding Domestic Demand and Promoting Consumption lists outdoor economy and sports consumption as key growth areas, creating space for functional fabrics and scenario-based products. Qiyang has responded with a new logic: 'use functional fabrics as a fulcrum, reinforce the front end, expand the terminal, raise the level, and build brands,' supported by a '1347' action framework targeting a nationally influential outdoor sports textile and apparel cluster.
Qiyang's location also aids its bid to absorb industrial transfer. It is within a three-hour economic circle of the Pearl River Delta, soon to shrink to 1.5 hours. Comprehensive factor costs are over 10% lower than coastal textile hubs, and the county has a customs service station and enterprise service center. For coastal orders seeking cost optimization and capacity backup, Qiyang holds appeal.