By Zhao Zihan

2016 China （Dalang） International Woolen Knitwear Fair （CIWKF） was held on July 7th at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

In 2012， Dalang Government together with China National Textile and Apparel Council compiled the “Program for the Upgrading and Sustainable Development of Woolen Knitwear Industry in Dalang”， proposing an aim to strive to “rebuild a new knitwear city within five years” so as to form a new industrial cluster mode of Industry 4.0.

Five years passed， and how is Dalang today？

Figures·Dalang

■ In 2015， Dalang saw a total GDP of 22.02 billion yuan， an increase of 33.7% over 16.47 billion yuan in 2012.

■ Dalang was ranked No. 40th among 2015 Top 100 Towns in Comprehensive Strength in China.

■ Currently， there are more than 7，000 knitwear enterprise equipped with over 50，000 CNC looms， forming a Woolen Knitwear Trade City of 10 square kilometers.

■ In 2015， the knitwear industry in Dalang realized a total output value of 19.2 billion yuan， accounting for 38.2% of the the towns total industrial output value. 75% products were exported to more than 80 countries and regions， including the U.S.， Russia， Italy， and Brazil.

■ The above-designated woolen knitwear enterprises witnessed a total output value of 10.56 billion yuan in 2015.

■ For 5 years， Dalang has been in a rapid progress of 6 projects centered on the building of a Woolen Knitwear Trade City of 10 square kilometers.

■ For continuous 3 years， Dalang has been organizing the enterprises as a group to participate the overseas exhibitions.

■ 10 standards for Dalang knitwear industry associations were developed and published.

Achievements·Dalang

■ Dalang was awarded a number of honorary titles in 2015 such as “National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base” and “Chinese Knitwear Culture and Art Village”.

■ Many high-quality companies were cultivated and a lot of well-known brands were created. In addition， there are various professional activities each year.

■ The public service platforms for R&D and design， quality control， personnel training， information consultation， exhibition logistics， and financial services were established and integrated， providing strong support for the development of the industry.

■ A series of associations came into being， including Dongguan Woolen Textile Industry Association， Dongguan Woolen Knitwear Machinery Association， Dongguan Woolen Knitwear Designers Association， Dalang E-commerce Business Association. Besides， Dalang E-commerce Business Center and Dongguan Woolen Knitwear Innovation Center were established.

■ The first national woolen knitwear price index was successfully published.

■ Four fashion events in the wool industry including Online Design Contest， Knitwear Design Contest， Publishing of Spring/Summer Fashion Trends， and Fashion Show of Autumn/Winter Fashion Trends.

The upcoming CIWKF to be opened on this November 2nd， themed on “Fashion ？ New Knitwear City”， aims to be more marketoriented， more professional， and more international， while integrating multi-factors such as fashion， brand， quality， and design to present a new knitwear city from various aspects.

Figures·CIWKF

■ According to the exhibition schedule， the 15th CIWKF will be under a “3 + 3” mode， “1 + 3”pattern and “4 + 2 + 2 + 2” framework of professional activities.

■ “3 + 3” mode： the 3-day CIWKF and 3-day Sweaters Day；

■ “1 + 3” pattern： a main venue of Dalang Woolen Knitwear Trade Center as well as 3 subvenues including World Trade Plaza， Textile World， Online Business Building；

■ “4 + 2 + 2 + 2” framework of professional activities： 4 major special events， 2 domestic activities， 2 activities about Sweaters Day， and 2 buyers meeting.

Functions·CIWKF

the 15th CIWKF will make unified design and construction of the halls and booths for further improvement of the overall image of the fair.

Meanwhile， there will be a series of featured booths， for example， Booth A1 in the atrium for the display of Dalang woolen knitwear industrial chain achievements， the Original Design Zone & New Yarn Zone， a showcase area for Intelligent Manufacturing to exhibit the latest equipment and technologies.

In addition， a number of activities relating to online business and design are to be held for an exhibition of the development of the online business and R&D in Dalang in recent years.

Creativity·CIWKF

As a fashion icon in the industry， trend design and fashion shows are a must in the following CIWKF. In this regard， four fashion events in the wool industry including Online Design Contest， Knitwear Design Contest， Publishing of Spring/Summer Fashion Trends， and Fashion Show of Autumn/Winter Fashion Trends will continue this year.

It is worth mentioning that the 9th China（Dalang） Woolen Knitwear Online Design Contest has seen a conclusion by receiving more than 792 entries nationwide.

Dalang is also in preparation to produce its third micro-films， telling a story of the new knitwear city.