China's manufacturing, in a few blocks
From south to north, seven blocks.
Each block has its own "signature products", and the reason is usually history: which port opened first, where the skilled workers gathered first, where the supporting trades filled in first.
What this map is for: first work out which block the thing you want belongs to, then find a city inside that block.
South China: Guangdong, Fujian
Guangdong is the biggest block, and it is very uneven inside.
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Guangzhou | Trade and distribution, garments, leather goods, cosmetics |
| Shenzhen | Electronics, telecoms, smart hardware |
| Dongguan | Electronics contract manufacturing, hardware, toys, furniture |
| Foshan | Home appliances (Shunde), ceramics, furniture |
| Zhongshan | Lighting (Guzhen), small appliances |
| Huizhou | Electronics, batteries |
| Chaozhou | Ceramics, stainless steel ware |
| Shantou | Toys, underwear, household chemicals |
| Zhanjiang / Maoming | Seafood processing, small appliances |
| Fujian · Quanzhou | Sports shoes, garments, building materials |
| Fujian · Jinjiang | Sports shoes, textiles |
| Fujian · Putian | Shoes, craft goods |
| Fujian · Xiamen | Electronics, trade |
Why here: reform and opening started here first, Hong Kong and Taiwanese capital came in first, and the supporting trades (tooling, injection moulding, electronic components) are the most complete.
One characteristic: the division of labour in Guangdong is extremely fine — one town does one process, and crossing a town boundary means crossing a stage.
East China: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai
This is the home ground of "small commodities + light industry".
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Zhejiang · Yiwu | Small-commodity distribution (a market, not a production base) |
| Zhejiang · Yongkang | Hardware, drinkware, power tools, security doors, cookware, weighing instruments |
| Zhejiang · Cixi | Small appliances (irons, water dispensers, heaters) |
| Zhejiang · Yuyao | Hardware parts, plastic parts |
| Zhejiang · Taizhou | Plastic products, moulds, pharmaceuticals and chemicals |
| Zhejiang · Shaoxing | Fabrics, textiles |
| Zhejiang · Wenzhou | Shoes, eyewear, lighters, low-voltage electricals |
| Zhejiang · Zhuji | Socks |
| Zhejiang · Pujiang | Crystal, craft goods |
| Jiangsu · Nantong | Home textiles, bedding |
| Jiangsu · Suzhou | Electronics, machinery, textiles |
| Jiangsu · Wuxi | Machinery, electronics |
| Jiangsu · Changzhou | Equipment manufacturing, solar |
| Jiangsu · Danyang | Eyewear |
| Shanghai | Headquarters, R&D, trade, finance (not a manufacturing base) |
Why here: Zhejiang is a "block economy" — one county makes one category; Jiangsu runs on two legs, foreign investment and private firms.
One characteristic: Zhejiang's industrial belts are split by town, one town one category; Jiangsu leans more to "parks", one park several categories.
Central China: Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui
This is where production moved to.
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Henan · Zhengzhou | Food processing, equipment manufacturing, electronics contract manufacturing |
| Henan · Xuchang | Hair products, wigs |
| Henan · Luohe | Food processing |
| Hubei · Wuhan | Optoelectronics, auto parts |
| Hubei · Xiantao | Non-woven fabric |
| Hubei · Hanchuan | Textiles, garments |
| Hunan · Changsha | Construction machinery |
| Hunan · Zhuzhou | Rail transit, cemented carbide |
| Hunan · Liling | Ceramics |
| Jiangxi · Jingdezhen | Ceramics |
| Jiangxi · Ganzhou | Furniture, rare earths |
| Jiangxi · Nanchang | Electronics, aviation |
| Anhui · Hefei | Home appliances, cars, solar |
| Anhui · Wuhu | Cars, building materials |
| Anhui · Chuzhou | Appliance components |
Why here: once coastal costs rose, factories moved inland; the centre has the advantage in labour and land.
One characteristic: the industrial belts here are "younger" than the coast's — many are parks built in the last ten or twenty years, not something that grew on its own.
North China: Shandong, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing
This is "heavy industry + agricultural processing".
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Shandong · Qingdao | Home appliances, tyres, beer |
| Shandong · Yantai | Agricultural processing, machinery |
| Shandong · Weifang | Agricultural machinery, chemicals |
| Shandong · Linyi | Small-commodity distribution, logistics (a market, not a production base) |
| Shandong · Zibo | Ceramics, glass, chemicals |
| Hebei · Baoding | Bags and luggage (Baigou), cars |
| Hebei · Cangzhou | Pipeline equipment, hardware |
| Hebei · Tangshan | Steel, ceramics |
| Tianjin | Port, equipment manufacturing, chemicals |
| Beijing | Headquarters, R&D (not a manufacturing base) |
Why here: Shandong is a "manufacturing province", with both heavy and light industry; Hebei produces the supporting goods around Beijing and Tianjin.
One characteristic: this block runs on big volumes in and out — steel, chemicals, bulk goods — not "small and precise" like the Yangtze Delta.
Northeast: Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang
This is the old industrial base.
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Liaoning · Shenyang | Equipment manufacturing, machine tools |
| Liaoning · Dalian | Shipbuilding, equipment, software |
| Liaoning · Anshan | Steel |
| Jilin · Changchun | Cars, rail carriages |
| Heilongjiang · Harbin | Heavy equipment, food processing |
| Heilongjiang · Qiqihar | Heavy machine tools |
Why here: the industrial layout of the early years of the People's Republic, a priority of the First Five-Year Plan.
One characteristic: this block is strong in heavy industry and weak in light industry — if you are after consumer goods or small commodities, this is not the home ground.
Southwest: Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou
This is "western manufacturing".
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Sichuan · Chengdu | Electronics, software, food |
| Sichuan · Deyang | Heavy equipment |
| Sichuan · Mianyang | Electronics, technology |
| Chongqing | Cars, motorcycles, electronics |
| Yunnan · Kunming | Agricultural processing, tobacco |
| Guizhou · Guiyang | Big data, baijiu |
| Guizhou · Zunyi | Baijiu |
Why here: the western development programme plus relocation from the coast; electronics and cars are the mainstays.
One characteristic: this block takes over the coast's electronics contract manufacturing, but its supporting trades are less complete than the coast's.
Northwest: Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang
This is "resources + defence industry + specialty agriculture".
| City | Roughly what it does |
|---|---|
| Shaanxi · Xi'an | Aerospace, electronics, equipment |
| Shaanxi · Baoji | Titanium, equipment manufacturing |
| Gansu · Lanzhou | Petrochemicals, non-ferrous metallurgy |
| Xinjiang · Urumqi | Textiles, agricultural products, border trade |
| Xinjiang · Kashgar | Border trade, agricultural products |
Why here: resource and defence industries, plus the gateways that open towards the west.
One characteristic: this block is not the home ground for consumer goods, but it has an edge in cotton, textiles and agricultural products.
From south to north, one summary table
| Region | Core provinces | Main cities | Signature products |
|---|---|---|---|
| South China | Guangdong, Fujian | Guangzhou / Shenzhen / Dongguan / Foshan / Zhongshan / Quanzhou / Jinjiang | Home appliances, electronics, footwear and clothing, lighting, toys |
| East China | Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai | Yiwu / Yongkang / Cixi / Taizhou / Nantong / Suzhou | Small commodities, hardware, drinkware, home textiles, small appliances |
| Central China | Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui | Zhengzhou / Wuhan / Changsha / Jingdezhen / Hefei | Food, optoelectronics, construction machinery, ceramics, home appliances |
| North China | Shandong, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing | Qingdao / Linyi / Baoding / Tianjin | Home appliances, tyres, bags, steel, ceramics |
| Northeast | Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang | Shenyang / Dalian / Changchun / Harbin | Equipment, cars, machine tools, steel |
| Southwest | Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou | Chengdu / Chongqing / Kunming / Guiyang | Electronics contract manufacturing, cars, food, baijiu |
| Northwest | Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang | Xi'an / Lanzhou / Urumqi | Aerospace, petrochemicals, cotton and textiles |
How do you use this map?
Three steps.
- Locate the block by category first (home textiles → East China; hardware → East China; home appliances → South China)
- Then narrow it down to a city (this article is exactly this step)
- Then go down to the town (one city may have several towns doing different categories — that is the job of the product article or the producing-area article)
This map only takes you as far as "the city" — for the town, read the specific product article.
Sources (2026-10-30)
| Item | Nature | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The representative categories of each city | ⚠️ Industry observation | Summarised from public material and local government industry introductions, not a single official standard |
| The division into seven regions | ⚠️ Method | A common economic-geography division, not an official administrative one |
A note: this map is an index, not a data table. The specific numbers (output, value, number of firms) are in the product and producing-area articles, with sources.
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