The color matching of dopamine is cute and healing, and the soft hand feels comfortable and decompressive, which is the plush toy that brings us childhood memories.
The picture shows the product display of Ankang Plush Toy Community Factory. Photo by Zhang Yuan
When it comes to plush toy manufacturing, where do you think first? Is it Yangzhou, Jiangsu? Dongguan, Guangdong? Or Zhejiang Yiwu?
However, in the Qinba Mountains, thousands of kilometers away from the above place names, a small city is becoming more famous for its stuffed animals. At the 23rd China Ankang Hanjiang Dragon Boat Festival held this year, the title of "New Capital of China's Plush Toy Industry" fell to Ankang, Shaanxi.
The upcoming 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, 600 million mascots are also "made in an ankang". The mascots of the Asian Games have 12 production processes, including fabric inspection, cutting, lamination, embroidery, offset printing, digital printing, sewing, keel plugging, cotton filling, sealing, inspection and packaging. According to Duan Shaofeng, general manager of Shaanxi Hezhimei Animation Industry Development Company, "The mascot of the Hangzhou Asian Games is an order received around 2020, due to the complex production process and strict quality requirements, the company specially arranged 6 mature complete production lines and more than 500 employees to be responsible for production. ”
With the "Fourteen Games" mascots "Zhu Zhu", "Xiongxiong", "Lingling" and "Jinjin" produced by Ankang City, the Winter Olympics mascots "Bingdundun" and "Xuerongrong", the Universiade mascot "Rong Bao" and other plush toys entering the public's vision, the Asian Games mascots from Ankang "Qiang", "Lianlian" and "Chenchen" will once again polish the signboard of "China's plush toy industry new capital".
The picture shows the dragon boat team engaged in a fierce competition. Photo by Zhang Hao
Different from hard toys such as plastic figures, soft plush toys can bring people more spiritual comfort, are partners who accompany many young people growing up, and have certain emotional value. Even as adults, young people need stuffed animals to comfort busy minds. Plush toys can be described as the "most healing" industry.
How did Ankang, a city with its auspicious name, become associated with the "moe" plush toy industry?
The picture shows the beautiful scenery of the tea mountain in Ankang Pingli. Photo by Li Yifan
Ankang has become the "new capital of China's plush toy industry", which is a witness of the cooperation and friendship between Jiangsu and Shaanxi.
In 2017, Ankang was still a poor area in Shaanxi, always associated with the keywords of "poor countryside" and "ravines".
Due to the relocation, Ankang has the manpower advantage of a regionally intensive workforce; It is also because it is located in the conservation area of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and has the shackles of ecological reserves restricting the development of heavy industry. In Changzhou, Jiangsu, due to factors such as industrial policy adjustments and rising labor costs, labor-intensive industries are gradually declining, and there is an urgent need for "cage for bird" for industrial transfer.
The picture shows workers making plush toys in a factory. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Ankang has introduced the plush toy industry as a whole, and undertaken the production capacity of the eastern provinces through measures such as establishing a promotion mechanism, industrial gradient transfer, introducing preferential policies, and strengthening investment attraction, so as to promote employment, promote poverty alleviation, and improve the level of new urbanization and industrialization.
At the end of 2017, Wang Liang came to Ankang Ziyang from Beijing for inspection, and it took less than a month to build a factory. On December 12 of the same year, Ankang Aidobao Animation Culture Industry Co., Ltd. was officially put into production in Jiangping Town, Ziyang County, which opened the curtain on the development of Ankang plush toy cultural and creative industry. Wang Liang said: "The overall business environment of Ankang is relatively good. When we first came to build the factory, we used the resettlement house reserved by the government, and the company could directly put into production only by purchasing equipment. ”
By the end of 2022, Ankang City has built 826 plush toy enterprises (points), absorbed 1,8 jobs, achieved an output value of 51.67 billion yuan, and exported its products to more than 80 countries and regions such as Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and the Middle East, and has become the fourth largest plush toy production base in China. After years of unremitting development, plush toys have become the star industry with the highest attention to Ankang.
On December 2017, 12, Ankang's first plush toy factory was put into operation. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Ankang aims at "small toys" to develop large industries, innovate production models, and promote industrial development. Relocation has brought many new communities, and Ankang has built factories at the doorstep of the house in accordance with the development idea of "building industry on the mountain, building communities under the mountain, and running factories in the community" and the development model of "park headquarters + new community factory + family workshop", driving more people to employment.
The picture shows workers making plush toys in a factory. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Li Jianmei, from Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, who founded Ankang Hengan Toys Co., Ltd. in October 2018, said: "Ankang's migrant relocation community has set up a community factory, which can meet the needs of residents to find employment nearby. We learned about this model at China Merchants and felt that it was very suitable for labor-intensive industries such as plush toys. ”
Women make up a larger proportion of factory workers. "Local women used to be at home with their children and the elderly, and rarely went out to work. Today, factories are opened in the community, making stuffed animals to meet their needs for nearby employment and income for their families. Li Jianmei said. We have also introduced flexible working hours for 'moms' who need to take care of their children, so that 'moms' can coordinate their own time to work. ”
The picture shows workers making plush toys in a factory. Photo courtesy of interviewee
On May 2022, 5, Yangkun Toy Products Co., Ltd. (Disney Production Headquarters) was completed and put into operation in the relocation and resettlement area of Shuhe Town, Xunyang City. Yuan Jian, general manager of Yangkun Toy Products Co., Ltd., introduced: "Through the radiation of the headquarters + new community factory model, we have built four branches within ten kilometers around the headquarters, achieving the employment of about 10,1000 people and effectively opening the factory to the doorstep of employees. In order to allow employees to enter the factory with peace of mind, we have also opened our own kindergarten and elderly care center to solve the problem of child care and elderly care for employees. At the same time, it provides production skills training and a certain guaranteed minimum wage to attract more labor into the plush toy industry. ”
On May 2022, 5, Disney's production headquarters was completed and put into operation in the relocation and resettlement area of Shuhe Town, Xunyang City. Source: Ankang Development and Reform Commission
Ankang City is committed to developing plush toys into a pillar industry of Ankang City. To this end, Ankang City not only continues to release policy dividends, but also vigorously develops industrial supporting facilities, focusing on "extending the industrial chain, smoothing the supply chain, and building the value chain" to build an industrial service integration platform.
Located in the Hengkou Demonstration Zone, the five centers of plush toys are committed to building a closed loop of the plush toy cultural and creative industry service system around the plush toy cultural and creative industry supply chain, guiding the entry of multiple resources, and pulling through diversified industrial services.
The picture shows a corner of the interior of the five centers of the Ankang plush toy cultural and creative industry. Source: Ankang Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, Film and Television
"Mengmengda" plush toys need strong logistics to be brought out in order for the world to see. As an inland city, Ankang lacks a natural port, and the development of the logistics industry is relatively lagging behind. In recent years, Ankang City has joined hands with SIPG to establish a dry port in the Hengkou Demonstration Zone, and fully promote the real industry led by the plush toy cultural and creative industry to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
At present, the construction of Ankang Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) is steadily advancing, the "Anxiao" China-Europe Express has been normalized, and the international market for foreign trade has expanded to 80 countries and regions around the world.
"In the near future, when Ankang Customs is connected to the dry port, the customs clearance process such as customs declaration approval, inspection and quarantine for the export of plush toys will definitely be more convenient, which will be more conducive to the development of our enterprise." Wang Liang, founder of Ankang Aidobao Animation Culture Industry Co., Ltd., is looking forward to the future of dry ports.
The picture shows the first rail-sea combined transport train of the new western land-sea corridor (Ankang-ASEAN) ready to go. Photo by Chen Feng
Nowadays, "raising" plush toys are popular among young people, and "soft cute" plush toys are the emotional sustenance of these young people and are carefully cared for, which also puts forward new requirements for the interactive function of plush toys.
The picture shows netizens sharing "raising" plush toys on social media.
Improving the scientific and technological content of products and increasing the added value of plush toys are also urgent needs for the development of ankang plush toys. "We are developing smart plush toys that can realize human-computer interaction, hoping to improve the core competitiveness of our products." Wang Liang introduced.
The picture shows workers making plush toys in a factory. Photo courtesy of interviewee
At Ankang, plush toy elements full of childlike and creative can be found everywhere to heal everyone who comes here. "An'an" with blue sky and white clouds as elements and "Kangkang" with sunflower as elements are Ankang's newly launched city image IP, and tourists and citizens are vying to check in.
The picture shows the mascots "An An" and "Kang Kang". Source: Ankang Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, Film and Television
China's first plush toy theme airport Ankang Fuqiang Airport, plush toy characteristic theme block full of children's fun, cute plush toy tour parade, plush toy cultural and creative characteristic town... In the face of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and major opportunities for industrial transformation, Ankang seeks innovation and change in the development of independent brand IP, intelligent plush toys, trendy plush toys, and cultural and tourism integration, and constantly actively explores and innovates the scientific and technological content of plush toys.
The cultural and creative industry of ankang plush toys has formed a closed loop of industrial chain such as creative design, production and wholesale of raw and auxiliary materials, product processing, trade and sales, etc., realizing the deep fission from the introduction of an enterprise to the cultivation of an industry.
The picture shows the view of Ankang City. Source: Ankang Development and Reform Commission
Knowing so much, why not call three or five friends now, come to Qinba Pearl Ankang together, and feel the "cute" plush toy world?
Authors: Lisa Wang, Jingliang Cui, Yuan Zhang