In Puning, a bustling county-level city in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, the thunder of drums marks more than just the coming Chinese Lunar New Year. Recently, Russian expat Anton Shulakov joined a deep dive into the city, discovering the city’s unique blend of cultural heritage and industrial might.
Yingge druming echo iconic spirit of perseverance
At the training center of the Puning Fumei Youth Yingge Dance Team, the synchronized crack of wooden batons echoes through the air. For Anton, this was his first encounter with the Yingge Dance, often hailed as the "Chinese Warrior Dance," for its dynamic blend of opera, dance and martial arts.
"I’d seen clips on social media, but witnessing it in person is a completely different level of shock," Anton remarked. "Seeing the whole group of people dancing in perfect unison is unbelievable. I cannot imagine how much effort is required to reach this level of precision."
Drawing inspiration from the Chinese classic novel Water Margin, the Puning Yingge Dance symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and the prayer for peace. The Fumei Youth Yingge Team was founded in 2009 and has since developed into a vibrant community of over 100 members from diverse backgrounds, including e-commerce professionals, catering staff, and students. The youngest dancer is just six years old.
Behind the heroism on stage lies a persevering commitment. Chen Xiangyu, who plays the agile character "Shi Qian" (a legendary scout from the novel), admits that years of high-impact jumps and flips have taken a toll on his knees. Yet, he persists. For him and his teammates, the dance embodies a spirit of resilience and fighting through the pain.
To promote Yingge Dance, the Puning Fumei Youth Yingge Team is working to be more inclusive by welcoming anyone interested in the performance, challenging traditional rules that restrict participation to males or villagers. “The only rule for admission is the love for Yingge Dance,” said Li Junhao, the coach of the team. This inclusiveness has propelled Puning Yingge Dance to viral fame on social media and international stages. Li Junhao proudly noted that the team has performed in Thailand and Malaysia, with upcoming tours planned for Russia and Spain around the Chinese New Year.
"When we performed abroad and heard the crowd cheering for Yingge Dance, we felt the responsibility of spreading Chinese culture, and the sense of pride was overwhelming," Li recalled.
Having watched the Yingge Dance and learned the move himself, Anton was impressed by this magnificent art of the Chaoshan region and said, "If I ever get the chance to bring my parents here to see this with their own eyes, it will be a memory of a lifetime!"
Seamless "fabric-to-fashion" chain drives city's unique commercial pulse
The spirit of courage and resilience in the Yingge Dance is mirrored in Puning’s thriving commercial landscape.
Puning operates on its own distinct clock. Here, the day often begins around noon, and the city truly comes to life deep into the night. This late-night energy is driven by a massive e-commerce ecosystem, where overnight shipping and pre-dawn live-streams are the norm.
At Puning International Garment City, Anton was impressed by the exceptional price-performance ratio: high-quality T-shirts and garments were sold at prices that seemed impossibly low compared to market standards. This competitive pricing results from Puning’s "front-shop, back-factory" model, supported by a comprehensive local production cycle that spans from raw fabric to finished apparel.
Home to over 7,000 enterprises, Puning's textile and apparel industry achieved a total output value of 143.1 billion yuan in 2025. Puning’s shirts, homewear, and undergarments are popular worldwide. The city produces more than 40 percent of China's women's lingerie and homewear, maintaining its position as the largest industrial cluster of its kind in China. From January to July 2025, Puning’s textile and apparel exports hit 1.99 billion yuan, marking an 8.8 percent year-on-year increase.
Du Ruirong, General Manager of Guangdong Bangmalong Garment Co., Ltd., elaborated on this vertical integration, which slashes costs and time. "We have our own design team, and we can go from a sketch to a finished product ready for shipment in just one week," Du said. "With automated hanging production lines, our factory can churn out 10,000 units a day."
E-commerce leaps carry Guangdong apparel into global closets
"We would rather sleep on the floor as a boss than in a bed as an employee." This popular local saying captures the pragmatic ambition of Puning’s entrepreneurs. Today, that ambition is going global via cross-border e-commerce.
Hu Meiyuan, Director of Guangdong Mingshu Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park, explained that the park is committed to helping local apparel firms explore overseas markets, with Brazil emerging as a key target. "Brazil offers a vibrant consumer market that perfectly complements Puning’s manufacturing strengths," Hu said. This synergy allows both regions to build a more responsive fashion supply chain together.
Serving as a pivotal hub for Puning's clothing industry, the park helped local brands expand overseas markets with annual cross-border sales exceeding 120 million yuan. Furthermore, 5G smart factories are reshaping the entire production process, while AI technology is now used for auto-translated videos, allowing local brands to bypass language barriers and speak directly to international consumers.
Having completed a live stream to sell clothes himself, Anton was impressed by the locals' business acumen. "I admire their passion for becoming their own bosses, finding the best ways to conduct business, and making money. They are very business-oriented," he observed.
From the strike of wooden batons on the morning training grounds to the tapping of keyboards in late-night live-streaming rooms, Puning maintains a fast and powerful pace. In this city, cultural heritage and commercial trade are deeply interconnected, both driven by the local spirit of hard work and competition. As the Yingge Dance continues this Spring Festival, Puning’s business expertise is also reaching a wider global audience through a growing number of international orders.
Chief Planner: Zhang Chunqing
Coordinator: Li Lin
Executive Producers: Shen Chen, Yin Juewen
Reported: Ding Hefei
Video: Luo Yuan
Poster: Wu Junli
Proofreaders: Chen Xuede, Liang Jieping