Small comfort for Shantou's family-run firms

They have always been small, close-knit family businesses. And for decades, they were the backbone of the Shantou manufacturing industry.

But now these clusters of companies in the eastern coastal city of Guangdong province are feeling the pinch. As exports stall, times are hard as they struggle to match cheaper rivals in Southeast and South Asia.

In their heyday back in the 1990s, Shantou's small factories churned out cheap clothing and toys at breakneck speed. While the work was labor-intensive, the rewards were as big as the foreign orders that poured in.