A township economy producing 900 million sweaters annually—one in every five sweaters globally—is trying to redefine the added value of the knitting industry through intangible cultural heritage. On June 24, the 10th Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference launched simultaneously with the 23rd China (Dalang) Knitting Products Fair and the 95th International Wool Conference in Dalang Town, Dongguan, creating a significant triple-event effect.
Industry Data and Regional Position
Dalang Town, located at the geometric center of Dongguan, has a GDP of 47.37 billion yuan. Its knitting cluster has stabilized annual output at 900 million pieces. Based on public data, approximately 20% of the world's sweater supply originates from this small Lingnan town. This scale means any technological or market shift in Dalang directly transmits to the price and delivery schedules of the global mid-to-low-end sweater supply chain.
Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, noted at the opening that the industry faces systemic changes, with consumers increasingly focusing on health, self-expression, and emotional connection. This judgment points directly to the upgrade direction for knitting products—from simple warmth functions to cultural carriers.
Heritage Standards and Industrial Agreements
The most noteworthy industrial signal from this conference is the substantive content of multiple signed agreements. The CNTAC Intangible Heritage Office and Intertek Testing (Dongguan) Company signed the 'Textile Intangible Heritage Standards and Certification Cooperation,' meaning heritage products will have quantifiable industry standards. For buyers, 'heritage certification' may become a new quality endorsement in the future.
Simultaneously signed was the 'Strategic Cooperation on Textile Intangible Heritage and Knitting Product Innovation Development,' involving several top Dalang enterprises including Yinxiangpai Clothing, Xinhongfeng Apparel, Tongfa Knitting, and Lanmei Textiles, along with China's top ten fashion designer Wang Dong and local heritage inheritor Wan Gongxue. This five-party collaboration model—industry association, town government, enterprises, designers, and inheritors—aims to clear the entire chain from cultural creativity to industrial production.
Additionally, the 'Strategic Cooperation Agreement on Dalang Knitting Industry Quality Service System' and 'Dalang Knitting—Brand Supply-Demand Service Cooperation' target two pain points: industry standardization and brand matching. For Dalang factories long engaged in OEM, improvements in the quality service system will directly impact the pass rate of foreign trade orders.
Heritage Fashion Show and Cultural Tourism Integration
The opening ceremony featured a themed fashion show divided into three chapters: 'Kirin Awakening,' 'Kirin Walking,' and 'Kirin Shining.' The core design element was extracted from Dalang's local intangible heritage kirin pattern, patented by Wan Gongxue, winner of the Shanhua Award. Local enterprises Yinxiangpai, Tongfa, Xinhongfeng, and Lanmei participated fully in design and production, implementing the 'Designed in Dalang, Made in Dalang, Presented in Dalang' concept.
From an industry perspective, this show is not mere brand display but a test of the 'wearable cultural asset' concept. Positive market feedback would directly push knitting products from cost competition to cultural premium competition.
The concurrently launched 'Lychee Red 2026' Dalang Town Cultural Tourism Consumption Week attempts to convert exhibition traffic into local consumption. This 'professional exhibition + cultural event + tourism experience' model has succeeded in Keqiao and Shengze in the Yangtze River Delta; Dalang is replicating and aiming to surpass them.