It is unprecedented in the textile industry for a township-level industrial cluster to simultaneously host the world’s three top wool events. On June 24, the 23rd Knitting Fair, the 10th Textile Intangible Heritage Conference, and the 95th International Wool Textile Conference opened concurrently in Dalang, Dongguan. Behind this triple convergence lies a full-industry-chain ecosystem with an annual transaction volume exceeding 72 billion yuan—one out of every five sweaters worldwide originates from this Lingnan town.
Background Dalang’s wool knitting industry began more than four decades ago and now forms a closed loop from yarn R&D and knitting equipment to garment manufacturing and brand marketing. Public industry data shows the town operates 150,000 computerized flat knitting machines and nearly 10,000 fully fashioned machines, with core processes approaching 100% digital coverage. The lead time from design to shipment has been cut from the traditional 7–10 days to just 2–3 days, while the product pass rate has climbed above 99%. This efficiency edge is the fundamental reason Dalang holds a pivotal position in the global wool supply chain.
The uniqueness of this year’s event lies in the first-ever integration of an international summit, a full-industry-chain exhibition, and intangible cultural heritage activities within the same time frame. Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, noted that this “mutually reinforcing” layout reflects Dalang’s systematic thinking. Notably, Qu Hongqi, Vice Chairman of the Dongguan Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, positioned the textile and garment industry as a key pillar of the city’s “8+8+4” modern industrial system, signaling that Dalang’s upgrade path is becoming a model for regional industrial transformation.
Industry Impact From a technological perspective, the launch of the AI sweater large model is the most symbolic development at this fair. The OPC intelligent design agent, powered by an AI large model, can automatically generate styles, create patterns, and decompose process parameters, dramatically lowering the design threshold. An AI customization immersive experience area allowed visitors to go from design to finished garment in just two hours—a “rapid garment-making” model that, once widely adopted, will structurally disrupt traditional sampling and quick-response supply chains.
Upstream, competition in functional yarns is intensifying. Local company Nanxi Apparel demonstrated nano-level waterproof, oil-repellent, and stain-resistant yarns, along with new types offering sustained coolness, UV protection, warming, deodorizing, and antibacterial properties. This reflects consumer demand for “black-tech” fabrics that is driving R&D investment. Dalang develops nearly 10,000 new yarn varieties annually and holds two-thirds of China’s fancy yarn patents, making it not just a production center but a hub of yarn innovation.
Equipment upgrades are equally noteworthy. Leading enterprises like Xinhongfeng have widely adopted fully fashioned machines and AI design tools, reducing post-knitting processes and lowering labor costs. For buyers, this means Dalang factories can now handle more complex, higher-value-added orders without traditional knitting capacity constraints.