Eyewear district, China
Wenzhou
One of China's four main eyewear production hubs, with frame factories clustered in its Ouhai district.
Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, is one of the four main eyewear production hubs in China, alongside Danyang, Shenzhen and Xiamen. Its factories, many in the Ouhai district, turn out metal and plastic frames and sunglasses for brands around the world. China makes the majority of the world's glasses, and Wenzhou is one of its largest sources.
A city of small manufacturers
Wenzhou is known in China for family-run private businesses, which grew rapidly after economic reforms began in 1978. Eyewear was one of the trades its entrepreneurs built up, alongside shoes, lighters and buttons. Clusters of specialist suppliers for hinges, screws, lenses and plating grew around the frame makers, so a new design can be prototyped and produced quickly.
China's eyewear map
Each hub has its strengths. Danyang in Jiangsu is best known for lenses and has more than 1,600 eyewear firms. Shenzhen produces many high-end frames for foreign brands, and Xiamen in Fujian is known for sunglasses. Wenzhou makes large volumes of everyday frames and sunglasses. Together they supply much of the frames sold worldwide under many labels.
