In Jiaxiang county, Jining, Shandong province, the focus has recently been on expanding the ice and snow sportswear sector, with a particular emphasis on the glove industry.

The county's strategic efforts include developing distinctive industrial parks, nurturing industry leaders, and encouraging enterprises to embrace independent innovation, steering the glove industry towards a more clustered and specialized model.

A prime example of this industry's success is Jining Glove and Sewing Product Co Ltd. The company's diverse product lineup encompasses ski gloves, motorcycle gloves, bicycle gloves, and high-end gloves equipped with lithium battery heating systems. With an annual production capacity of 3.6 million pairs, over 90 percent of their gloves are exported, predominantly to Europe and America.

"After the Winter Olympics were held in China, more and more Chinese people have fallen in love with winter sports. China's ski market will get bigger and bigger, so we are putting more energy into the domestic market, making more products for Chinese ski enthusiasts," said Chen Xu, who runs a leading sportswear enterprise in Jiaxiang.

Chen's enterprise has mastered core technologies such as high-performance coating and impregnation and high-performance fiber new material preparation and has achieved significant results in niche fields such as windproofing, high wear resistance, puncture resistance, and resistance to high and low temperatures.

A pair of sportswear gloves crafted in Jiaxiang county, Jining, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/Qilu News]

The glove industrial park and the new high ground intelligent industrial park in Jiaxiang county have established a comprehensive industrial chain encompassing R&D, material procurement, manufacturing, and exports. With an annual production capacity of 80 million gloves and a total output value of 2.5 billion yuan ($344.66 million), the industry directly employs over 20,000 workers and supports the employment of nearly 50,000 people in related sectors.