It is convenient to wear, affordable, varied in shape and fashionable in style. As a recyclable nail art jewelry, hand-woven nails have quickly become popular and have grown into an emerging industry with an annual output value of over 10 billion yuan in just a few years. Behind the success, a small city in northern Jiangsu - Donghai County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, has entered the public eye, and 70% of domestic hand-made armor products come from this. With an annual output value of over 8 billion yuan, the products are sold to more than 30 countries and regions. How can Xiaoxiao Donghai County allow global consumers to share the feast on their "finger tips"? The reporter recently came to the local area to find out.

With the update and upgrading of mass consumption concepts, hand-wearing nails has become a new choice for nail art, winning the favor of domestic and foreign consumers. Behind the rise of the hand-woven armor industry, a set of data attracts attention: in 2024, the total output of hand-woven armor in Donghai exceeded 150 million pairs, the annual output value of the industrial chain exceeded 8 billion yuan, and about 80 million original wearable armor products were sold worldwide through cross-border e-commerce.

Why are hand-woven nail films "birth" in the East China Sea and "exploded" in a short period of time? After the rapid expansion of the industry, how will Donghai polish the hand-wearing business card and further promote and standardize industrial development?

Appear

Walking into Yigao Road, Donghai County, you will feel like you are in a nail art world. On this road less than 800 meters, nearly 50 hand-woven armor shops are neatly arranged, from gradient, nude color to cat-eye and French style. The accessories on the armor are colorful and dazzling; live broadcast hosts are shuttled back and forth, and customers who purchase are shoulder to shoulder.

Li Zhifu, the head of Donghai Yihe Beauty Cosmetics Co., Ltd., is the first person to "eat crabs" on Yigao Road. Since opening its first store in 2020, Li Zhifu's stores have rapidly expanded to 18, and 85 production points have been set up in 19 towns and streets in the East China Sea, with more than 2,000 workers.

"The rise of the hand-made wearable armor industry in Donghai is actually closely related to the crystal industry." Li Zhifu, who was born in the production and sales of crystals, told reporters, "A few years ago, Donghai crystal sellers found that orders for crystal scraps from Yiwu suddenly exploded. After investigation, it was found that these broken crystals were mainly embedded in an ornament called "wearing armor". "Yiwu's wearable armor is a "machine armor" mass-produced in the production line. The cost is very low. Because of the inlay of crystals, the price has increased several times. Some crystal sellers in Donghai have thus paid attention to the wearable armor industry.

Li Xuan, chairman of Donghai Daxuan E-Commerce Co., Ltd., is also one of the earliest entrepreneurs in Donghai to come into contact with the wearable ar industry. "In 2019, when nail art crystal products appeared in the Donghai market for the first time, Donghai people with a keen sense of market smell discovered business opportunities." Li Xuan said, "Instead of 'working' for Yiwu merchants, it is better to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself and make a new world in the new track."

"Compared with Yiwu's machine ar production, the East China Sea will have a higher probability of success only by finding a different approach." Li Xuan said that at the beginning of his business, he led his team to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhejiang and other places for investigation, and ultimately focused on the field of hand-woven armor that can personalize patterns and add exquisite accessories.

The family takes the lead in doing it, and thousands of households follow and learn. In this way, hand-dressed armor developed in a small family workshop in the East China Sea. In early 2023, a statistical data report from Alibaba’s platform showed that 70% of the platform’s hand-woven Armor products were shipped from Donghai. The hand-woven armor industry has blossomed everywhere in the East China Sea at this time.

In order to find out the truth, at the end of 2023, the Donghai County Party Committee and County Government conducted in-depth research on the handmade wearable arbor industry for more than four months. "Donghai's hand-woven armor industry has developed from the initial production and supply of nail decorations to 'raw materials production-production-production-sales' in all links in the entire industrial chain. There are about 300 enterprises and merchants and nearly 50,000 practitioners. Hand-woven armor is becoming Donghai's second business card after Crystal." Li Zheng, Secretary-General of Donghai County Wearing Armor Industry Association, said that the scale of Donghai's hand-woven armor industry is still in a period of rapid expansion, and long-term development is still in a period of superposition of opportunities.

Out of the circle

In 2019, Donghai County's hand-woven armor industry started, and by 2024, its annual output has exceeded 150 million pairs. What exactly is driving the rapid rise of this industry in small Donghai counties?

"Donghai people are hardworking and innovative, and have a good crystal business, with developed logistics and anchors everywhere, and are sensitive to new trends in online platforms. Therefore, they discovered the 'potential stock' of hand-wearing armor at the first time." In Li Zheng's view, the Dare to Think and Dominate the Dare to Fight is the fundamental core, the advantages of e-commerce are the key support, and the government's forward-looking services are an important guarantee.

The early morning of weekdays is Wang Ting's busiest time. After sending the child to school, she rushed to the production base of Donghai Yihe Beauty Cosmetics Co., Ltd. without stopping to work. "We are paying for pieces. Although we are flexible in work, we have to hurry up and work more and get more money." Wang Ting said while polishing the arbor in her hand. It took about 15 minutes to make a pair of regular hand-wearing armor. She worked about 8 hours a day and earned more than 6,000 yuan a month.

When I walked into the Yihe Beauty Production Workshop, I saw more than 40 manicurists sitting beside the long table and making armor, with nail sheets, nail polish glue, patches and phototherapy lights placed aside. From polishing the nail sheet to finishing the nail polish glue according to the style, lighting the lamp, painting the style and diamond setting, to filling the seams, baking and reinforcement, and sealing the layer, the entire process is completed in one go.

Li Zhifu introduced that the company has spread nearly 100 production bases in Donghai County, absorbing more than 2,000 "mothers" to find employment at home, with a daily maximum output of more than 50,000 pairs of hand-woven armor.

"Sisters, my nails are made of hand-woven nails, purely handmade. If you need them, you can click on the small yellow car to place an order..." At 9 a.m., outside the Yihe Beauty Store on Yigao Road, Xu Jing, a "post-90s" e-commerce anchor from Linyi, Shandong, has been on the air for an hour. "Many consumers will watch live broadcasts on their way to work, and move the live broadcast room to the store in the morning, and sales can increase a lot." With the advantage of direct supply of Donghai's hand-woven armor, Xu Jing came here to do live broadcasts at the end of last year, and now she has a stable customer base and good income. In Xu Jing's view, hand-wearing armor breaks the cumbersome process of traditional nail art and is a more affordable, convenient and novel alternative product. With the gradual heat of the "her economy" boom, hand-wearing armor still has a lot of room for development.

"In the East China Sea, there are more than 50,000 e-commerce practitioners. The developed e-commerce platform resources and a huge team of live broadcast talents are the basis for the emergence of the hand-wearing armor industry." Li Zheng said.

Open the Xiaohongshu online platform and search for manual wear armor. The number of readings on topics reached 4.9 billion and more than 3.08 million notes were taken. Many netizens commented that hand-wearing armor has become one of the most popular fashion items for female consumers to grow grass.

Outstanding lottery

The trend of wearing armor rising in the East China Sea has attracted more and more businesses and enterprises to participate. Because the entry threshold is not high, after experiencing the "rapid growth" stage of winning at low prices, the hand-woven wearable industry will also face the transformation from the blue ocean market to the red ocean market. In this regard, some practitioners in Donghai have begun to explore high-end, branded and customized development paths.

Jiangsu Tuhuan Nail Art Co., Ltd. has just been established for a year and has quickly grown into the backbone of high-end hand-wearing armor in Donghai. "The route we are taking is to integrate oriental aesthetics into hand-woven armor design, use handicraft techniques such as enamel and relief, and through business models such as cross-border cooperation, more creativity can be implemented, thereby building a brand." Han Qiuchen, chairman of the company, said that the company is using wearable armor as a carrier to strive to promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture to the world.

Walking into the production workshop of Tuxun Nail Art Company, young designer He Liyao was painting armor at his desk. "Traditional culture can also be very fashionable. Our task is to wear cultural relics and cultural images on consumers through clever design and careful drawing, so that traditional culture can add a unique charm and charm to hand-woven armor." He Liyao said.

The reporter saw that the Chinese style hand-woven armor designed by He Liyao is based with a monochrome pink color. By using magic mirror powder and matte sealing layer, the texture of silk fabric is created. At the same time, diamond decoration and carving combination are added to satin jacquard. The entire pair of wearing armor fully demonstrates the artistic conception of oriental aesthetics.

Entering Hall 3 of Donghai Crystal City, more than 30 hand-woven armor brand stores are arranged in sequence. The "Tuhua" brand flagship store founded by Jiangsu Tuhuan Nail Art Co., Ltd. has a strong artistic atmosphere. "These pairs of wearable armor are blue and white porcelain series, and use three-dimensional relief technology." The company's general manager Fan Kaiqi enthusiastically introduced more than 180 ingenious handmade "limited edition" wearable armor. "The small wearable armor is also a high-end cultural and creative product that carries cultural connotations. Although the average price of a single pair exceeds 300 yuan, it is still sought after by consumers, and production orders have been scheduled until the end of July."

Li Xuan led the team to deeply integrate intangible cultural heritage skills with modern aesthetics, and opened up a new cultural overseas track on the arbor less than 1 mm thick. In 2024, its company's cross-border e-commerce sales accounted for more than 40%, and its products were sold overseas. "We work hard to study how to tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese culture on this small nail film." Li Xuan said that the company insists on the dual-wheel drive of technological research and development and cross-border cooperation. By continuously researching new materials and new processes, modern nail art and traditional skills are melted into one, and products become the cultural business card of walking.

In Donghai County, as the hand-woven armor market gradually matures, it is imperative to promote the industry to standardize and brand development. "We will work hard to improve the policy system, build a cluster platform, and cultivate large-scale enterprises, promote the three integration of industry brands, standards and management, integrate the three major business formats of tourism, crystal and e-commerce, and further enhance the development level of the hand-made wearable industry." Zhao Hua, director of the Donghai County Commerce Bureau, said.

Go to sea

At 4:30 a.m., on the north side of Binhe South Road, Donghai County, the third-floor live broadcast base of Jiangsu Jingyiyi Supply Chain Co., Ltd. is still brightly lit. The 15 cross-border e-commerce live broadcast rooms are full of people. From midnight to early morning, the anchors introduce Donghai hand-dressed armor in fluent foreign languages. The staff next to them are busy sorting and packing, and the piles of express delivery are waiting to be sent to all parts of the world. This is a cross-border e-commerce company established in 2022. The cross-border business of hand-wearing arbor has been under development for less than a year, and the sales of customized hand-wearing arbors have reached nearly US$10,000 per day.

"We have done research specifically. The overseas market has a very high demand for personalized nail art products and I also like Chinese traditional culture. This provides new ideas for the development of the wearable armor business." Chen Zhi, chairman of the company, said that when the company first developed the handmade wearable armor business, it promoted Donghai handmade wearable armor to make a world in the overseas market by integrating culture, careful design and main customization.

In front of the dazzling display stand of Jingyi Company's hand-worn armor, Zhang Leilei, a post-95s anchor, shuttled back and forth with her mobile phone, telling overseas fans the cultural significance behind each work with passion. On the live broadcast screen, classical, modern and Chinese-Western armors shine brightly. "Nail artists and intangible cultural heritage craftsmen condense traditional techniques such as cloisonné enamel, paper cutting, relief, and dotted jade into a space as big as a fingernail. Having a pair of wearable armor is like engraving China's long-standing history and culture on its fingertips." Zhang Leilei said that overseas consumers prefer exquisitely designed and culturally connotated nail films. The live broadcast room should use the live broadcast room as a bridge to convey the essence of China's excellent traditional culture to the world.

Suzhou embroidered armor pieces reappear ink in the south of the Yangtze River, Dunhuang elements reappear the charm of murals, and the condensed Sanxingdui bronze patterns trigger mysterious thinking... Hand-made armors became popular overseas, starting with appearance and rooted in culture. "Hand-made armor with "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" as the creative elements cost US$2,000. A set of armor films based on "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" cost more than US$3,000, and is still a best-selling." Li Zheng said that intangible cultural heritage skills allow Chinese elements to bloom in a small space and become a new carrier for cultural outings. High-end hand-woven armor has long surpassed the simple decorative function and has become a wearable Chinese cultural symbol.

In order to help Donghai County cross-border e-commerce small and medium-sized enterprises "going overseas in a row", Donghai County has opened a dedicated route to international communication exports, built two provincial cross-border e-commerce industrial parks and one provincial public overseas warehouse, and supported cross-border e-commerce operators based on third-party cross-border e-commerce platforms. "Donghai also specially established a cross-border e-commerce trading center to focus on solving 10 key issues such as product supply chain, cross-border logistics, and export customs declaration for cross-border e-commerce, and open up the full process, full chain and all-round trade channels for manual wearer going overseas." Li Zheng said.

Set off again

With its profound heritage in the crystal industry, Donghai County has seized the opportunity of hand-woven armor. The total sales this year are expected to exceed 15 billion yuan, and it has developed into a global manufacturing center for hand-woven armor. Hand-woven armor has become the second industrial signboard after crystal. "The prosperity of the industry is exciting, but the threshold for the hand-woven wearable arbor industry is low. In order to achieve sustainable development, the industry must expand and fill in the shortcomings." Zhao Hua said that the Donghai hand-woven wearable arbor industry is facing challenges such as low product premium, scattered industrial layout, and insufficient brand influence.

"In 2023, the county party committee and county government conducted a comprehensive investigation on the Donghai hand-wearing armor industry and planned the road to high-quality development of the industry in a forward-looking manner." Zhao Hua said that in view of the current situation of "small and scattered" of industry enterprises, Donghai joined hands with more than 100 enterprises to jointly establish the Wearing Armor Industry Association and issued the first "Hand-wearing Armor Group Standard" in the country; and compiled and issued the "Donghai County Hand-wearing Armor Industry Three-Year Plan Action Plan (2024-2026)" to guide the industry into a standardized and orderly development track.

When you enter the Donghai High-tech Zone, a modern standard factory area covering an area of ​​60,000 square meters comes into view. This is a beauty industry base specially opened by Donghai County for the hand-worn armor industry. Jiangsu Jiaolong New Materials Co., Ltd. is located here, specializing in the production of basic arthros, which is also an important part of the Donghai industry chain to complete the hand-woven arthros.

When I walked into the workshop, I saw more than 10 injection molding machines and spraying machines independently developed by the company were busy running. The mechanical arm accurately took out the acrylic deck from the injection molding machine and sent it to the assembly platform. The light-weight white wearable armor floated into the storage box like snowflakes. "The enterprise started from a small workshop with more than a dozen people. With the guidance and support of industrial policies, it has gradually developed into a large enterprise with a daily output of up to 90,000 pairs and an annual output value of over 10 million yuan." Zhu Jin, deputy general manager of the company, told reporters, "In the past, the bottom armor was mainly purchased from other places and the price was relatively high. With the support of the government, we independently developed sprayers and other production equipment to reduce the bottom armor costs by 50%. While reducing costs and increasing efficiency, we also actively shared the latest R&D equipment with local peers, driving more than 10 similar enterprises to grow together, and formed a production chain of hand-woven bottom armor in the East China Sea."

Visiting Donghai High-tech Industrial Development Zone, some companies are climbing up the industrial chain, and some are accelerating the extension and replenishment of chains. A full industrial chain covering nail polish, nail sheet, design and sales is forming an industrial agglomeration effect here. Donghai County has set the development goals for 2025: attract more than 20 supporting production enterprises in the industry such as accessories, consumables, and packaging, cultivate more than 4 industrial enterprises above designated size, and more than 30 wholesale and retail enterprises limited to the top, and create a global wearable industry highland.

"In order to more effectively lead and promote the high-quality development of the wearable argent industry, Donghai closely focuses on the talent needs of the industrial chain, carefully implements the recruitment and training plan for key talents, and further strengthens cooperation and exchanges with universities and secondary vocational schools, aiming to cultivate a group of talents with professional skills to fully meet the talent needs of the industrial chain." Zhao Hua said.

According to the plan of the Donghai County Wearing Agent Industry Association, it is estimated that by 2026, the annual production of Donghai County's Wearing Agent will exceed 500 million pairs and sales will reach 30 billion yuan. (Economic Daily reporter Jiang Bo)