In June 2026, Dalang captured global attention with an unprecedented triple event combining the International Wool Textile Conference, the Weaving Trade Fair, and the Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference. The numbers speak volumes: 3.6 billion yuan in intentional transactions, 35,000 buyers, and nearly 2,000 exhibitors. Compared to the previous year, buyer numbers rose 16% and intentional transaction value increased 18.5%, significantly outpacing industry averages. This signals that Dalang's status as a global wool center is shifting from scale advantage to value advantage.
Data Validates Industrial Appeal
Trade heat is a hard indicator of cluster vitality. Major domestic brands like Huimei Fashion, UR, and SHEIN formed purchasing delegations, while buyers from over 20 countries including Russia, France, and Poland attended. Two specialized matchmaking events yielded remarkable results: the 'Dalang Wool – Brand Apparel Procurement Matchmaking' secured over 20 collaborations worth 30 million yuan, and the 'Chain Dalang, Weaving the Future' supply-demand matchmaking generated another 20 million yuan in intentional orders. This precision matching model means supply chain efficiency is shifting from broad exhibition sales to customized matchmaking, offering smaller factories shorter client conversion cycles and lower acquisition costs.
Notably, the double-digit growth in buyers and transaction value is no accident. Over the past three years, Dalang has pushed 'smart manufacturing' upgrades. This year's exhibition showcased functional knitwear with water-repellent, anti-static, phase-change temperature regulation, and Japanese-certified cooling yarn, alongside breakthrough fireproofing technology—directly addressing booming demand from outdoor and functional apparel markets. The widespread adoption of integral knitting technology and 3D digital modeling replacing traditional prototyping makes 'design-to-product' a reality, while flexible production lines accommodate small-batch, quick-response orders. This is exactly why fast-fashion giants like SHEIN favor Dalang.
Intangible Cultural Heritage as Soft Power
The 10th Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference added cultural depth to the hardcore wool industry. Designer Wang Dong collaborated with local Dalang enterprises to embroider 36 original outfits with patterns from intangible heritage inheritor Wan Gongxue's qilin motifs, from design to garment production all 'Made in Dalang'. Special exhibitions like 'Weave Core' and 'Weave Soul' featured dragon dance intangible heritage skeletons paired with yarn collages creating 'Colorful Auspicious Cloud Dragon', reviving Lingnan traditions in modern stitches.
For buyers, intangible heritage elements mean product differentiation. In a fast-fashion landscape plagued by homogeneity, functional knitwear with cultural narratives commands premium pricing on shelves. For factories, collaboration with heritage inheritors offers a path from OEM to branding—no longer just taking orders but participating in design and cultural empowerment, thus improving margins.
Global Consensus and Regional Layout
The International Wool Textile Organization launched its Wool Green Paper globally in Dalang, providing an operational guide for green transformation from regenerative grazing to traceability systems. Representatives from over 20 countries engaged in deep discussions on wool industry green transition and global supply chain coordination. Multiple agreements on intangible heritage standard co-building and industrial innovation integration were signed at the opening ceremony. These moves indicate Dalang is transitioning from a 'manufacturing base' to a 'rule-setter'.
Going forward, Dalang town will accelerate the 'Dalang Weaving Valley · Greater Bay Area Wool Textile Reception Hall' project and the Xiangtou contiguous 'industrial-to-industrial' renovation. The goal of digitalization, smart manufacturing, and branding targets a 100-billion-yuan industrial cluster. For foreign trade enterprises and brands relying on Dalang's supply chain, this means more stable capacity, faster delivery, and more compliant green certification systems.