Foreign visitors explore gang zi industry in Shandong

A group of expatriates recently visited the woodwork industrial park in Haomiao village in Xieji town, located in the Shanxian county of Heze city, in East China's Shandong province.

During their visit, they explored the local industry producing gang zi, also known as thick sticks in English. These are wooden handles used for various implements and manual tools, such as hooks and rakes.

Haomiao village is known far and wide for its gang zi industry, which has been a part of its history for almost a century.

In the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there were many skilled artisans in the village and then in the 1990s, they began to export their skills to the outside world. Over the past 30 years, more than 20 gang zi production centers have emerged nationwide with a major global customer base in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Kazakhstan.

The industrial park's exhibition hall is divided into three sections. The Remember the Past section exhibits antique items such as hooks, rakes and flat bars. The Win in the Present section showcases popular products like rolling pins and garlic pounders. The Pursue a Promising Future section displays potential best-sellers, including shovels, billiard cues, small hooks and baseball bats. All three areas document the growth of the local gang zi industry over the past century.

Foreign visitors are guided through the gang zi exhibition by staff. [Photo by Wang Xiaolan for chinadaily.com.cn]

Additionally, visitors also had the chance to see the gang zi production workshops, where the constant hum of machinery filled the air.

Workers were busy in front of band saws, polishing machines and other equipment, transforming square wooden pieces into smooth round poles in their hands, which impressed all the visitors. (Edited by Zhou Yunlai)