Yanshi, The "City Of Cloth Shoes In China": A Pair Of Cloth Shoes "Break Into" The World

Chinese people have always been keen on wearing new clothes and shoes during the Spring Festival. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the reporter visited Yanshi District, Luoyang City, Henan Province, the "City of Cloth Shoes in China", and found that the shoe enterprises here were rushing to make orders. A pair of finished shoes were produced from the assembly line, and would soon "go" to all parts of the world.

"We have been busy since October 2024, first with overseas orders, and now we are busy producing spring shoes with domestic orders near the Spring Festival." Li Zhigang, head of Yanshi District Shuanglong Shoe Factory, said that 80% of its output will be exported to Russia, South Korea, India and other countries in 2024.

On December 20, 2024, in Yanshi, Henan Province, workers were busy producing embroidered cloth shoes. Photographed by Han Zhangyun, a reporter from China News Service

Yanshi is the "City of Cloth Shoes in China". After more than 60 years of development, it has gathered more than 600 finished shoe manufacturers, more than 500 industrial supporting enterprises, and nearly 100000 employees. It is the largest production base of cloth shoes and textile fabric shoes in China.

Many people remember the traditional cloth shoes with black upper and thousand ply sole, simple appearance and comfortable wearing. Today, a pair of cloth shoes has achieved "72 changes" in Yanshi, becoming a fashionable and trendy item that sells well at home and abroad.

"Cloth shoes are no longer synonymous with 'rustic'." Zhang Jun, Secretary General of the Shoes Association of Yanshi District, said that at present, cloth shoes only include cotton cloth, velveteen, canvas, breathable leather, mesh cloth, fly fabric and other materials on the upper, while rubber, polyurethane, composite outsole and other materials are used on the sole, which not only overcomes the shortcomings of traditional cloth shoes that are waterproof and moisture resistant, but also retains the characteristics of softness and comfort.

Official data shows that at present, Yanshi cloth shoes have already "gone" out of 10 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) industry. In 2024, Yanshi will produce 400 million pairs of shoes, with an output value of 12 billion yuan.

On December 20, 2024, the national style Hanfu shoes were developed by the footwear enterprises in Yanshi District, Luoyang City, Henan Province. Photographed by Han Zhangyun, a reporter from China News Service

At present, there is fierce competition in the domestic and international shoe market. How to innovate, develop and improve product competitiveness has become the focus of many local shoemakers.

In the past two years, Hanfu and new Chinese style clothing have become popular, and Yanshi shoe manufacturers have followed the market changes to introduce new products.

Ma Yuwen, the designer of Yanshi cloth shoes, sees the right moment, combines historical documents, integrates Chinese traditional elements and modern aesthetics in styles, fabrics and other aspects, and injects new vitality into traditional industries.

The "post-90s" Liu Hangying is a local "second generation of shoes". According to the market demand, innovative products are favored by the market. He said, "Now people are very concerned about traditional culture. In the next few years, there will still be a market for ethnic style cloth shoes and embroidered cloth shoes".

Fu Kongyong is a senior designer of a footwear studio in Yanshi. He has been engaged in footwear development and design in Ningbo for more than 10 years. He believes that health and comfort have always been the two selling points of cloth shoes.

As people pay more attention to health care, some shoe manufacturers in Yanshi have added wormwood and other traditional Chinese medicine ingredients to their cloth shoes and equipped massage insoles. Relying on automated production lines, they focus on original design and use new processes and materials to make the cloth shoes more durable and sell well.

Boken shoes, Dexun shoes, daddy shoes and classic canvas shoes, which are popular in recent years, are also widely produced in Yanshi, and pay attention to the matching and change of fabrics, colors and styles, which are both fashionable and beautiful.

"Overseas regions have different demands for cloth shoes." Li Zhigang introduced, for example, consumers in Europe and Africa prefer bright cloth shoes, while East Asia prefers low-key and simple cloth shoes.

With high cost performance and excellent shoe making quality, foreign trade orders have become an important growth pole of Yanshi shoe industry. In 2023, Yanshi will export more than 160 million pairs of cloth shoes, accounting for about 40% of the total annual output, and sell well in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and more than 50 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America.

(Source: China News Network)