China Economy: Chinese hand-blown glassware big hit in global markets

As Christmas approaches, the demand for glassware is surging in international markets. Qixian County in Shanxi Province is hailed as the "glassware capital" of China. It's renowned for its hand-blown glass products, which are much sought after by overseas clients. Many glass factories in the region have been stepping up production to meet festive season orders. CGTN's Hu Chao has more.

The craft of hand-blown glassware originated in Europe. 

More than a hundred years ago, it was introduced to Qixian County in northern China's Shanxi Province. 

The craft has now evolved into a thriving industry in the region and the hand-blown glassware has become a bestseller in overseas markets, accounting for 26% of global production. 

Wine glass is among the most popular export items. 

Its slender stem is the key part, and the craft of "pulling the stem" is the most challenging for a worker. 

LUO QINQIN Worker, Shanxi Dahua Glass Company "The most challenging part is we cannot use measuring tools, and it depends on our eyes and hands. For a qualifying stem, the length variation cannot exceed 2 millimeters, and the thickness variation must stay within 1 millimeter."

Luo Qinqin is one of the most skilled stem-pullers. 

While machines can make a stem as thin as 8 millimeters, Luo can achieve an impressive 3 millimeters. 

She makes around 2,500 pieces a day, with a 95% pass rate. 

HU CHAO Qixian County, Shanxi Province "Here are two glass stemware pieces: this one is handcrafted, and this one is machine-made. It's quite evident that the handcrafted one has a thinner wall, a more delicate stem, and noticeably higher lustre and transparency. When held, the handcrafted one also feels much lighter than its machine-made counterpart."

Hand-blown glass products require intricate craftsmanship that machines cannot replicate, making them unique and highly favored in premium international markets. 

Their prices are three to five times higher than the machine-made ones. 

WANG XIANGYU Marketing Manager, Shanxi Dahua Glass Company "We incorporate Chinese elements into the design and make tailored recommendations for our customers. For instance, this glass cup, which is very popular this year, features patterns inspired by traditional Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, and it has been well-received by clients."

A long-time German client recently visited the company to discuss next year's orders. 

Drawn by the hand-blown glass, the client placed an order twice the size of this year's. 

LEONHARD RATHKE Client from Germany "We are recurring customers because the quality is absolutely the best. They are pretty able to adapt to our new designs every time we choose. Right now this product is pretty popular in the Berlin and Munich high society market and we just placed an order and hope they can quickly comply."

HU CHAO Qixian County, Shanxi Province "To meet the demand of international markets, intelligent solution has become an inevitable choice for companies pursuing industrial development. Automated production lines like this one have doubled the output. Each of them can produce around 40,000 glass stemware per day."

LI KAI Head of Mechanical Production Workshop, Shanxi Dahua Glass Company "Our workshop now fully operates with automated systems. 80% of the total output is now produced by machines."

Glassware has become a pillar industry in Qixian. 

The region now has more than 50 glassware companies, with a total annual output exceeding 300,000 tons, 70% of which are for exports to over 80 countries and regions, mainly in Europe and North America. 

This year, in the first three quarters, Qixian's glassware exports generated over 1.5 billion yuan, or 200 million US dollars, in revenue, marking a 10% year-on-year increase.