Off the wire
1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares close mixed on weak export data  • Update: Report says Egyptian delegation due in Riyadh for talks on Syria  • Spanish diplomat found dead in Islamabad: police  • China treasury bond futures close higher Thursday  • China Hushen 300 index futures close mixed Thursday  • Report: Saudi cut in gov. allowances, bonuses to save 35.5 mln USD  • China Exclusive: Heritage park to be built on prehistoric ruins in China  • China demands increased protection over private information  • Dhaka all set to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping  • Feature: Biography project aims to revive Beijingers' hutong memory  
You are here:   Home/ Features

Jingrong Town: Rebirth of Entrepreneurship

China Today by Luo Yao, October 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Walking on the streets of Jingrong Town in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, bustling groups of people gather around the blocks of businesses there. This dense entrepreneurial climate sharply contrasts with the scene one year ago.

Ghost Town Revitalized

More than 2,000 years ago, Li Bing, chief of Shu Prefecture (roughly modern-day Sichuan), and his son built a water conservancy project in Dujiangyan, a small city in Sichuan Province. The Minjiang River waters the Chengdu Plain, making it a land of abundance with vast expanses of fertile farmland. The pleasant climate, temperature and humidity render it ideal for mulberry planting and silkworm rearing, hence giving birth to Sichuan embroidery.

As intangible cultural heritage, the record of Sichuan embroidery can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 25). Its vivid patterns and brilliant colors have placed it in high demand.

However, traditional workshops cannot satisfy the current need for Sichuan embroidery. Efficient embroidery machines have taken the place of manual labor, causing traditional skills to fade away.

“I love Sichuan embroidery, and I wish to engage in related work for all my life,” Fu Guolian stated.

People with good concepts and fresh ideas come to the town to realize their dreams.

The 24-year-old young woman graduated from Chengdu Textile College. The college is also the research center for Sichuan embroidery. Fu became acquainted with the art as a college student and became tightly bound to it. Born in Hainan Province, she chose to stay in Chengdu after graduation and opened a cultural transmission company named “Qingzhenyixian” with several partners in Jingrong Town of Chengdu.

“Jingrong Town offers us many preferential policies, which is why we chose to start our business here,” Fu explained. Located about 30 km from Chengdu’s downtown area, Jingrong Town in Pi-xian County officially became a start-up community in early 2015. The company entered it in August 2015, and so started to inherit the town’s time-honored embroidery.

Before that, no one imagined that the town could revitalize. Traditional industry upgrading and the wide application of intelligent robots in 2015 caused many labor-intensive enterprises to lay off employees, turning it into a ghost town.

Earlier in 2015, thanks to the developmental opportunities brought about by the national entrepreneurship and innovation drive, the city of Chengdu launched similar plans. Jingrong Town is a case in point. Idle plant buildings are used as offices. It has also utilized abundant scientific research and talent resources from nearby 19 institutions of higher education. One year later it has become a highlight of Sichuan Province.

1   2   3    


Bookmark and Share