The 10th Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference, co-organized by the China National Textile and Apparel Council and the Dalang Town Government, opened on June 24 alongside the 23rd China (Dalang) Knitwear Trade Fair and the 95th International Wool Conference. This marks a deeper integration of textile heritage industrialization with regional clusters, moving beyond mere craftsmanship displays.
Industry Scale and Cultural Breakthrough
Dalang Town, a globally recognized knitting industry hub, recorded a GDP of 47.37 billion yuan in 2023 and produces 900 million sweaters annually, accounting for one-fifth of global sweater output. This massive manufacturing base now faces urgent needs to transition from OEM to brand and cultural value. The conference, themed 'Intangible Heritage Coexistence, Weaving the Future', aims to transform Lingnan's ancient dyeing techniques and hand embroidery into added cultural value for knitwear products.
Industry data shows that China's textile and apparel exports faced growth slowdown pressures in 2024, making cost-based competition unsustainable. Dalang knitting companies report rising demands from overseas buyers for design and cultural storytelling. Integrating heritage elements into knitwear essentially adds irreplaceable cultural premiums to export products, a key strategy to break price wars.
Signing Deals: Reshaping the Supply Chain
Multiple cooperation agreements signed during the conference cover five dimensions: heritage standards, industrial innovation, quality system upgrades, brand supply-demand coordination, and industrial park investment. The textile heritage standard and certification agreement is particularly critical—it establishes unified norms for quality identification of heritage knitwear, solving market confusion over 'fake heritage' and boosting buyer trust.
- Heritage standard and certification: Led by CICC Testing Dongguan, creating quantifiable testing and certification systems for heritage knitwear.
- Innovation cooperation: Involving local firms like Yinxiang Grassland, Xinhongfeng, and Tongfa, plus top fashion designer Wang Dong, linking design to production.
- Brand service cooperation: Connecting brand channels to help Dalang firms reach mid-to-high-end domestic retail markets.
These signings are not mere ceremonies but operational blueprints converting cultural resources into commercial value. For buyers, heritage-certified products offer higher quality endorsement and differentiation, ideal for mid-to-high-end markets in Europe, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea that value cultural depth.
Tourism-Culture Integration and Exhibition Synergy
The 'three conferences in one' model merges professional exhibitions, cultural events, and travel experiences. The opening fashion show featured Lingnan kylin patterns as core design symbols, patented by local artisan Wan Gongxue and industrially produced by Yinxiang Grassland, demonstrating a complete 'design-manufacturing-display' loop.
Concurrent cultural consumption weeks and site visits allowed buyers and media to tour factories and ancient villages, witnessing crossovers like plant-dyed cashmere and Song brocade with Xiangyun silk. This immersive experience generates stronger order intentions than traditional fairs. For foreign trade companies, inviting overseas clients to such events visually showcases the rarity and handcraft value of Chinese heritage, enabling pricing power in negotiations.