Three Bounces, Cloth Shoes, Knitwear... The "Going Global" Business of Small Central Plains Cities

Zhengzhou, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Textile fabric shoes priced between 12 and 40 yuan are exported for about 200 million pairs a year, high-quality three wheeled motorcycles are sold overseas for nearly 100000 units a year, and inconspicuous knitted goods are exported for over 2 billion yuan a year... This is Yanshi District, Luoyang City, Henan Province, the hometown of Xuanzang.

Driving back and forth on the main roads of Yanshi District, road signs such as "Xuanzang's Hometown" and "Erlitou Site" showcase the rich cultural heritage of this place, while signs such as "China's Shoe Capital" and "Let the 'Three Bounces' float overseas" showcase the economic and trade vitality of this place. The cloth shoes, motorcycles, and knitted goods here are exported to Central Asia, Africa, and other places. These road signs and slogans are thought-provoking. How can the "local specialties" - cloth shoes, motorcycles, and knitwear - be exported to Central Asia, Africa, and other places in the Central Plains small town that is not along the border or by the sea?

When I met Zhang Kunpeng, the manager of the international trade department of Luoyang Zhufeng Huaying Three Wheel Motorcycle Co., Ltd., he had just sent away a wave of foreign merchants attracted from the Canton Fair. Five merchants from the Middle East, Africa and other places signed intention orders to purchase three wheel motorcycles after visiting the factory on site.

As one of the most complete regions in China's three wheeled motorcycle industry chain and supporting system, Yanshi District has 15 motorcycle complete vehicle production enterprises and more than 200 parts production enterprises, creating a cluster effect that sets the industry speed of "assembling a motorcycle in 15 minutes". In 2025, Yanshi will export 98000 three wheeled motorcycles and 20 million parts, with a total export value of 770 million yuan. The overseas sales growth rate of three wheeled motorcycles will reach 35%.

The Yanshi tricycle industry has complete supporting facilities, and it only takes 15 minutes to assemble a three wheeled motorcycle, which can quickly respond to various customized needs of customers, "said Zhang Jiwei, Director of the General Office of Luoyang Zhufeng Huaying Three wheeled Motorcycle Co., Ltd

A large-scale industrial cluster and a complete supporting system are not only the key for Yanshi's three wheeled motorcycle manufacturing enterprises to quickly respond to customer needs and seize the international market, but also the confidence for local shoe and knitwear processing enterprises to win global orders.

Yanshi has a 70 year history of shoemaking, but its foreign trade in the footwear industry is "very young". The proportion of foreign trade has rapidly increased from less than 5% in 2017 to about 50% in 2025. What does it rely on?

When asked about the 38 year old general manager of Shuanglong Shoe Factory in Yanshi District, Li Zhigang, who is the second generation of shoes, answered without hesitation, "We rely on the quality price ratio

Zhang Jun, Secretary General of Yanshi Footwear Association, said, "In Yanshi, which has over 1500 shoe-making enterprises and an annual output of 500 million pairs of various textile fabric shoes, we are taking the path of differentiated competition, targeting international sinking markets such as Central Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Our products are updated quickly, and customers from any country can find the high-quality products they need at a lower price when they come to Yanshi

Walking into the exhibition hall of Luoyang Liangqi Knitting Co., Ltd., colorful and various styles of knitted bags are displayed on all four walls, dazzling people, and these are only the basic products exhibited by the company. The knitting industry in Yanshi started from family workshops and started selling products on the streets and alleys. Over the decades, it has grown into an industrial cluster with more than 600 related enterprises and stepped onto the international exhibition stage. Currently, tens of thousands of styles of knitted hats and canvas bags are sold worldwide.

Flexible production methods, skilled industrial workers, and complete industrial supporting facilities are our confidence in continuously entering the international market, "said Bai Shumin, Chairman of Luoyang Liangqi Knitting Co., Ltd.

Ji Xianghui, Director of the Yanshi District Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, said, "Economic and trade exchanges, like cultural exchanges, have never been one-way efforts, but two-way interactions. Not only are we expanding overseas markets, but overseas markets have also chosen 'Made in China' with good quality and diverse product categories