Deputy director of the Wenzhou Footwear & Leather Association Mr Xie Rong Fang has reported that Wenzhou’s shoemaking factories are moving to Chengdu en masse, meaning that the title of ‘city of shoes in China’ attributed to Wenzhou could possibly be transferred to Chongqing.

According to Mr Xie, over a quarter of Wenzhou shoe enterprises have offered to move to Chengdu in the near future, following the establishment of production bases in Chengdu and Chongqing by many of Wenzhou-based  brands such as Kangnai, Aokang and Hongqingting.

A Chengdu shoe industry association official also confirmed that, so far, Chengdu has received orders for ladies’ shoes from more than 200 Wenzhou enterprises—Chengdu is known for its ladies’ shoes while Wenzhou is famous for its men’s shoe production. It is believed that the value of orders transferred from Wenzhou to Chengdu will exceed RMB5 billion ($630 million) by the end of the year.

Mr Xie also said that Wenzhou enterprises believe Chengdu offers an advantage in terms of cost and that enterprises there have absorbed experience and technology from Wenzhou enterprises.