Stepping into Keqiao in Shaoxing, history and modernity shine in harmony. What catches the eye is not only the numerous rivers and bridges that adorn the gentleness of this Jiangnan water town, but also the quaint ancient towns that tell tales of time, and the over 430 modern high-rise buildings of 18 floors or more scattered throughout the city, recording the myth of Keqiao's rapid development.

Keqiao is a city lying on textiles. The prowess of Keqiao's textiles can perhaps be illustrated by the following data: the capacity of Keqiao's advantageous traditional textile industry accounts for about one-third of the nation's total; Keqiao's China Textile City is the world's largest professional textile market, where nearly one-quarter of the global textile products are traded. #Silk Road Keqiao Spreads Globally#

The total area of China Textile City's market reaches 3.9 million square meters, with the "online + offline" transaction volume surpassing 300 billion yuan in 2021, and it has been leading the same type of professional markets in the country for 31 consecutive years. From January to August 2022, the transaction volume of China Textile City, both online and offline, was 217.86 billion yuan, with a growth of 9.62%. Amidst the global pandemic, when the economy of various industries was severely affected, Keqiao's textile product volume and value still increased significantly, which can be called the "Keqiao Miracle."

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At present, Keqiao has more than 150,000 market entities, over 1,300 large-scale industrial enterprises, more than 1,200 limited commercial enterprises, 470 high-tech enterprises, and 17 listed companies. In order to build a world-class modern textile industry cluster, in recent years, Keqiao District has actively promoted the "dual-wheel drive" of digital leadership and manufacturing development, taking the lead in building "Weaving and Dyeing Industry Brain" and "Zhejiang's Engineers" application scenarios, cultivating and strengthening emerging industries such as new materials, life and health, and pan-semiconductors, and accelerating the construction of new industry platforms such as the Digital Smart Port, Health Island, and New Material Park.

Thirty years ago, Keqiao was still a "riverside cloth street." Keqiao has a developed water system with a dense network of rivers, where "small boat households" with oars and poles traded cloth with merchants coming from all directions. It was not until 1988 that the largest indoor professional market in the province at that time, Shaoxing Textile Market, was established and opened for business, and in 1992, Shaoxing Textile Market officially became the first professional market in the country to be named "China."

Today, the types of textiles traded in China Textile City reach more than 50,000, with a quarter of the world's fabric transactions taking place here annually, and products are exported to 192 countries and regions. China Textile City has also developed into a modern "International Textile Capital," and Keqiao has created a development story from rowing and selling to spreading globally.

After thirty years of ups and downs, Keqiao has been able to leap from "a piece of cloth" to a world-class industrial cluster, and from "a piece of cloth" to the entire textile industry chain, creating an international textile capital bustling with merchants and trade, which is inseparable from the innovative development of enterprises, and even more inseparable from the strong support of the government. The joint efforts of the government and enterprises have made miracles possible.From the perspective of corporate layout, in recent years, the Keqiao District has deeply implemented the "Silk Road Keqiao · Global Coverage" initiative, established the Shaoxing Keqiao Light Textile City Overseas Market Promotion Association, and encouraged enterprises to "go global." Despite the pandemic, they have also held multiple online exhibitions. The Light Textile City Overseas Market Promotion Association has set up offices in more than 10 countries, including the UK, the USA, Italy, and Ethiopia, and has established offline display and docking stores in Seoul, South Korea, and New York, USA, to promote the overseas trade of Keqiao textile enterprises.

Regarding the future development of China Light Textile City, a person in charge of the China Light Textile City Construction Management Committee said: "We will continue to promote the evolution of the China Light Textile City market, through the World Textile Business Conference, the Sino-Italian Future Fashion Innovation Center, the national pilot of the China Light Textile City market procurement trade method, and the 'Keqiao Selection' regional brand construction, and other important carriers and projects, to further enhance the competitiveness and discourse power of China Light Textile City, and strive to create a modern 'International Textile Capital'." #Silk Road Keqiao Global Coverage#

In terms of industrial development, Keqiao textiles have not only extended the industry chain upstream but also downstream to creative design and the garment industry, with its fashion and creative industry thriving. In 2008, aiming to build an "international textile creative center," the Keqiao District Textile Industry Creative Design Base, as the core carrier, was launched, officially sounding the horn for Keqiao's entry into the fashion and creative industry.

To date, within the China Light Textile City Textile Industry Creative Design Base, 149 institutions related to textile fashion, creativity, and design have gathered. A number of local design enterprises and designer brands such as Jima Liangsi, Colored Yuan, Original Color Digital, and Baisi Apparel have been successfully cultivated. Additionally, a batch of public service platforms such as the China Women's Wear Fabric Trend Research Institute, POP Design World, and Wu Haiyan International Fashion Research Institute have been successfully introduced.

Data shows that from 2011 to 2021, the design service revenue of enterprises in the China Light Textile City Textile Industry Creative Design Base increased from 70 million yuan to 351 million yuan, and the sales revenue formed by industry enterprises increased from 4 billion yuan to 41.512 billion yuan.

"The entire industry chain in Keqiao is very complete, benefiting many fashion designers. The Light Textile City has provided me with a vast fabric library, allowing me to minimize the time and cost of fabric procurement, significantly enhancing my company's competitive advantage," said Wang Feng, General Manager of Shaoxing Xuanyi Fashion Design Co., Ltd., who moved her business from Shanghai to Keqiao. Her company successfully settled in the Creative Building in 2021. Relying on the Light Textile City, she has taken design as the core competitiveness and has connected the entire industry chain, including material development, fabric weaving, garment design, and store display. In preparation for the upcoming Keqiao Autumn Fashion Week, Wang Feng has been particularly busy these days, designing the autumn and winter collections for 2023 and the spring and summer collections for 2024.

In terms of urban construction, a batch of multi-functional, modern buildings represented by the Creative Building, Convention and Exhibition Center, China Textile CBD, Cross-Border E-Commerce Center, and Shaoxing Convention and Exhibition Center have risen in Keqiao, enriching and perfecting the functions of the light textile market while also greatly enhancing the urban quality of Keqiao, initiating a model of iterative upgrading of industrial development and urban construction.Today, Keqiao has expanded from less than 2 square kilometers in the 1980s and 1990s to a medium-sized city with a built-up area of 80 square kilometers and a permanent population approaching one million.