In Dalang Town, Dongguan, Guangdong, an industrial cluster producing 900 million sweaters annually is striving to convert intangible cultural heritage skills into tangible economic momentum. On June 24, the 10th Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference kicked off simultaneously with the 23rd China (Dalang) Knitting Products Trade Fair and the 95th International Wool Conference. The convergence of three events reflects the knitting industry's shift from pure manufacturing towards culture-driven transformation.
Industrial Foundation and the Logic of Cultural Empowerment
Dalang Town, located at the geometric center of Dongguan, has a GDP of 47.37 billion yuan. The scale of its knitting industry is significant: one out of every five sweaters globally is produced here. However, this massive manufacturing base faces the challenge of meeting consumer demand for emotional value and product differentiation. Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, clearly stated at the opening ceremony that consumers increasingly focus on health, well-being, self-expression, and emotional connection. This means purely functional sweaters can no longer sustain premium pricing; cultural content has become a new competitive dimension.
The conference, themed 'Intangible Heritage Symbiosis, Weaving the Future,' centers on integrating traditional dyeing and finishing techniques and manual embroidery into knitting products. Dalang Party Secretary Dong Tie defined this fusion as 'wearable cultural assets.' This concept offers direct insight for buyers and brands: a sweater featuring intangible heritage patterns can be priced not on raw material cost plus processing fees, but on cultural IP and design added value.
Multiple Signings Reveal Industrial Upgrade Pathways
At the opening ceremony, agreements across five dimensions outlined specific upgrade measures. First, standardization: CNTAC's Intangible Heritage Office and China Inspection & Testing signed the 'Textile Intangible Heritage Standard and Certification Cooperation.' This means intangible heritage products will have quantifiable industry standards, providing a basis for export trade and brand endorsement. For foreign trade enterprises, standard certification is a passport to break non-tariff barriers and enter high-end markets.
Second, collaborative innovation across the industrial chain. The 'Strategic Cooperation on Textile Intangible Heritage and Knitting Product Innovation Development' was signed by industry associations, the town government, local enterprises, design talent, and inheritors. Participants include leading local firms like Impression Grassland, Tongfa, New Hongfeng, and Lanmei, along with China's top ten fashion designer Wang Dong. This multi-party collaboration model directly bridges the gap from creative extraction of intangible heritage to industrial-scale production. For factories, this means receiving not just simple OEM orders, but projects with design depth.
Additionally, agreements on 'Co-building Dalang Knitting Industry Quality Service System' and 'Brand Supply-Demand Service Cooperation' address gaps in quality control and market connection. The signing of the 'Guangdong-Hong Kong Smart Manufacturing Center and Jiangyin Hengxiang Weaving Investment Agreement' shows Dalang attracting external high-quality manufacturing resources, creating a cluster effect.
Practical Recommendations
For Buyers - Prioritize suppliers with intangible heritage standard certification; such products are more likely to establish differentiated positioning and premium pricing in the end market. - Focus on product lines under the 'wearable cultural assets' concept, such as series featuring Lingnan Qilin patterns, which have defined cultural IP and are harder to quickly copy. - Leverage the combined effect of the three concurrent events to integrate procurement trips with cultural tourism experiences, allowing on-site evaluation of the industrial quality of intangible heritage craftsmanship.
For Foreign Trade Enterprises - Incorporate intangible heritage certification as an added-value module in product catalogs, promoting to high-end retailers in Europe and America to break through price ceilings. - Establish long-term partnerships with leading local enterprises and designers, integrating intangible heritage elements into the development process for a stable design output capability. - Monitor the progress of Dalang's quality service system, using third-party testing bodies' neutral endorsements to reduce compliance risks in export trade.
Industry Signals from the Conference Events
The intangible heritage fashion show following the opening ceremony featured three chapters: 'Qilin Awakening,' 'Qilin March,' and 'Qilin Glory,' all designed, produced, and presented in Dalang. The local intangible heritage element—the Qilin pattern—was provided by patent holder Wan Gongxue, a winner of the Mountain Flower Award. This sends a clear signal: cultural resources are being systematically transformed into intellectual property. For the industrial belt, patented intangible heritage elements mean exclusive competitive advantages.
Concurrent activities included textile intangible heritage project exhibitions and the knitting trade fair, allowing visitors to see fine brocade, embroidery, and wool products up close, and visit Impression Grassland for a crossover practice of plant dyeing with cashmere. From stage to workshop, intangible heritage is no longer a display in a showcase but a tangible industrial resource. Since its inception in 2017, the Textile Intangible Heritage Conference has traveled to Zhejiang, Beijing, Yunnan, and other places. Its landing in Dalang this time is precisely due to the town's strong foundation in 'industry plus culture' integration.
For the textile industry, Dalang's exploration offers a replicable model: in an era when manufacturing scale advantages are no longer sustainable, cultural empowerment is not just an embellishment but a necessary choice to reshape the value chain.