Silk flowers wowing EU market

A post-90s "third-generation entrepreneur" from Tianjin left for Spain last month, planning to stay for at least a year as the 2,600-square-meter overseas silk flower warehouse he invested in has officially begun operations. From this hub, silk flower handicrafts from Tianjin are now being distributed across Europe.

Yang Qiang is the young-generation head of Qiang Dongdong Artificial Flower Co in Caozili town, Wuqing district. Last year, with strong support from the local government, his company participated as the sole Chinese enterprise representative at an international trade fair for the decoration and gift sector held in Madrid.

"Over two days, more than 270 buyers came to inquire and discuss cooperation," Yang recalled — a figure far exceeding expectations. He had initially thought it would be ideal if they could exchange contact details with 50 to 60 companies.

"During the fair, we noticed that over 95 percent of artificial flowers in the international market originate from China. The prospects for cooperation are enormous," he said.

Now, Yang has teamed up with a Spanish-Chinese business association to invest over 5 million yuan ($734,500) to establish the overseas warehouse.

"By ensuring a stable local supply and acting as intermediaries ourselves, we have completed the final link in the entire sales chain, transforming Wuqing's silk flowers from a 'cross-border commodity' into a 'local option' in the European market," he said.

Establishing a transit hub in Madrid enables silk flower products to reach markets across the European Union.

European consumers favor highly realistic, nature-inspired varieties and have shown strong interest in Chinese flower types rarely seen in local markets. Yang noted that demand for artificial flowers in Europe is robust for weddings, home decor and memorials, particularly for items like olive fruits and branches, which are commonly used in European households.

Caozili contributes to over one-third of China's silk flower industry. Its products are exported to more than 100 countries and regions, according to the local government.

The town has over 1,000 silk flower enterprises, with total annual output nearing 2 billion yuan.

"As original manufacturers, we have a complete production line covering punch press shaping, setting, stem insertion and assembly. We can also adjust product design and pricing according to client needs," Yang said.

Caozili boasts a mature and efficient silk flower industry chain, spanning design, petal and stem production, assembly and packaging. Yang Chengli, president of Caozili town's chamber of commerce, noted that his company alone owns over 20 million yuan worth of molds, enabling rapid response to downstream demand.

Tianjin Dongchen Arts & Crafts Co is another successful exporter. Manager Yuan Guangdong leveraged e-commerce to take his family's craft global. His company sells silk flowers to more than 100 countries through cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The history of silk flowers in Caozili dates back centuries.

Li Xiuting, 71, a representative inheritor of this heritage, recalls learning the craft as a child. "In the early days, production teams assigned silk flower processing tasks to households. All flowers were made using manual gluing."

"My grandmother studied dyeing under a master, but the colors were mostly red and pink, which is far fewer than what we have today," he recalled.

The 1980s marked a period of significant transformation in both materials and processes for Caozili's silk flower industry. Machinery began replacing manual processes.

While manual petal punching could only handle 24 layers at a time, a machine press could now handle 150 layers in a single operation, dramatically increasing production speed.

Now, 3D printing technology has also become widespread. In Caozili's silk flower workshops, 3D printing is used to create petal textures before the flowers move through pressing, shaping, stem insertion and assembly.

"The petal and vein textures replicated with this technology are exceptionally lifelike, something difficult to achieve with manual dyeing," Yang Qiang said.

In recent years, the town government has actively promoted industrial upgrading. In 2022, it used abandoned factory buildings to create a 1,600-square-meter silk flower industrial cultural park. The park has adopted a dual-engine model combining cross-border e-commerce with livestreaming, cultivating seven e-commerce enterprises and providing digital training for more than 150 local companies.

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn