A visionary's factory helps manufacture a dream

Birthplace of industry played key role in setting China on path to development

Cao Yunquan walked through the old Dasheng textile factory in Nantong, Jiangsu province, with a stride that was close to reverential.

The 77-year-old retired official and amateur historian paused in one dilapidated building, surveying the gossamer-like strands of cotton festooning the rafters, the peeling paint and warped wood.