As the 2026 Guangdong City Basketball League (Yue BA) is ongoing, we're launching a poster series that looks at the game through the lens of Guangdong manufacturing. Each edition highlights one city and the signature product that defines its industrial DNA.
Now, the series continues with three glamorous cities—Shanwei, Dongguan, and Zhongshan, which draw all eyes to Guangdong.
Shanwei, the city that glows to be seen
Shanwei Gems. Gleam Bright.
In the early 1980s, China's gold jewelry market began to open up gradually. The Shanwei region, represented by Ketang Town, Haifeng County, seized this opportunity to develop its jewelry industry, laying the foundation for an industrial cluster.
After nearly 40 years of development, Ketang has grown into a key "world factory" and "super hub" in the global jewelry industry. It brings together more than 120 types of colored gemstones, including rubies, sapphires, tourmalines, and red agate. With an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tons, the company exports its products to over 180 countries and regions across Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.
Shanwei's jewelry industry is stepping onto the global stage. The city is actively cultivating professional design talent to support industrial upgrading and drive Ketang's transformation toward a design-driven model. At the same time, it is expanding e-commerce and livestreaming efforts to build "Ketang Jewelry" as an international communication platform and enhance global brand awareness. Through jewelry, cultural festivals, and themed tourism routes, Shanwei connects markets, factories, and natural landscapes, offering visitors an immersive experience.
Dongguan, the city that amazes.
Dongguan Toys. Turn Heads.
From the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen to Pop Mart, about 85% of China's designer toys and one quarter of the world's anime derivatives are produced in Dongguan.
Dongguan's strength in designer toys comes from its solid manufacturing foundation and highly mature industrial chain system. The city is home to thousands of toy manufacturers and supporting enterprises, forming a highly efficient and coordinated industrial ecosystem that enables products to move rapidly from creative concepts to large-scale production, and to be steadily delivered to global markets.
Meanwhile, Dongguan's designer toy industry continues to strengthen its original design capabilities and cultural expression, actively promoting the global expansion of its IPs. Drawing on its rich historical and cultural heritage, it transforms traditional aesthetics into contemporary expressions, continuously exploring new categories and emerging segments, and shaping a more distinctive and influential image of Chinese designer toys in global competition.
Zhongshan, the city that lights the way.
Zhongshan Lights. Lead Eyes.
Guzhen Town in Zhongshan is one of the most concentrated hubs of China's lighting industry. In 2002, it was awarded the title of "China Lighting Capital". Its lighting products have gone global, becoming an important supply base for the international lighting market.
In the 1980s, local villagers brought samples back from Hong Kong and produced the first handmade lamp. Since then, Guzhen has evolved from a network of scattered workshops to a hub of large-scale production, gradually turning "making lamps" into a complete industrial chain. After more than 40 years of development, it has grown into an industrial cluster with an annual output value exceeding 100 billion yuan: roughly 7 out of every 10 lamps in China are produced here, and its products are also exported worldwide, holding a significant share in the global market.
Today, the development of Zhongshan's lighting industry can be summarized as "smart" and "green". Lighting is no longer a simple illumination tool; it has evolved from mobile-controlled systems to AI-integrated processes across design, production, and dimming, gradually embedding itself into diverse lifestyle scenarios and driving companies from single-product manufacturing toward comprehensive lighting environment solutions. At the same time, "green" has become the industry's default setting, with continuous optimization in material selection, structural design, and production methods, achieving more efficient heat dissipation, higher lighting efficiency, and reduced resource waste.
Author & Poster | Liu Yue
