In the home textiles section of a major supermarket in Baoding of northern China's Hebei province, red lanterns heralded the arrival of Spring Festival.

Sun Tongxin, 31, stood holding her nearly 3-year-old son Fanqie, who rubbed a towel between his fingers. "He likes soft things," Sun said.

Buying a new towel before the Chinese New Year is a family habit."When it feels like it's time, we replace them," said Sun. "Now that he's bigger, I want a larger one."

Like many shoppers, Sun did not consider where the towel was made. But one in three towels sold nationwide comes from Gaoyang county in Baoding, according to local authorities.

Gaoyang's textile industry began in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and flourished into the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), said Ren Shuai, deputy director of the county's bureau of science, technology and industry information.

In 2025, the county's textile cluster reached an output value of 85.2 billion yuan ($12.42 billion), accounting for about 75 percent of its total industrial output and contributing 60 to 70 percent of fiscal revenue. More than 4,200 enterprises and 5,000 e-commerce shops operate along a complete local supply chain covering spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing and logistics, Ren said.

"The complete industrial chain is our core advantage," Ren added. "From spinning and weaving to dyeing, finishing and logistics, everything is local."

Dubbed the "Hometown of China's Textiles" and a "National Textile Base County", Gaoyang saw its signature towels included in the first batch of China's famous regional consumer brands in 2025.

For years, the industry competed on volume and low margins. That has now shifted toward creativity, technology and branding.

At Hebei Yongliang Textile Products Co, general manager Tian Haitao said the company once focused on output, "but now it's about creativity and quality".

Yongliang partnered with the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater to launch the towel series of "my towel can sing opera", using natural dyes from chestnut and pomegranate shells. Each towel carries a QR code that plays a Kunqu aria.

"It brings two forms of intangible cultural heritage — Kunqu and Gaoyang's folk dyeing techniques — into everyday life," Tian said, noting the product was named one of China's top 10 creative products in textile intangible cultural heritage.

Plant-dyed products generated more than 5 million yuan in sales in 2025 — and automation is driving change as well. At Baoding Tuqiang Textile Co, technical supervisor Han Fengchao recalled when towels were cut with scissors and folded by hand. Today, automated systems control production.

"Smart manufacturing shortened our product upgrade cycle by 12 percent, reduced defect rates by 7 percent, and cut energy consumption per unit by 4 percent," Han said.

The company's annual capacity is 54 million towels, said sales general manager Han Wei, and its latest cotton-synthetic blend combines softness with quick-dry performance. These innovations reflect a broader shift in Gaoyang's towel industry. Products have evolved from simple, plain cotton goods to a full portfolio covering household, hotel, mother and baby care, and sports applications.

Mid-range combed cotton and bamboo fiber products, priced at 5 to 20 yuan, still account for about half of the sales. But premium and IP-collaboration items (specially made with cultural elements), costing above 20 yuan, are growing fastest, according to official Ren Shuai. "This is our upgrade engine."

Despite the rise of disposable facial wipes, Ren said overall towel demand remains stable, with growth shifting to scenario-specific products such as bath and sports towels.

Sustainability is also part of the upgrade. Tuqiang uses reclaimed water in dyeing to achieve zero wastewater discharge. Yongliang's plant-dyeing process reduces carbon emissions by 339 grams per kilogram of product, Tian said.

Wei Qian, product department manager at Yongliang, has spent 14 years in Gaoyang's textile industry. She has witnessed the transition from "heavy production, light quality" to integrated smart manufacturing, heritage-driven design and green development.

"What I am most proud of isn't any single product," Wei said. "It's the whole ecosystem — the cluster advantage, the intelligent equipment and the government policies that support us."

Gaoyang plans to host a home textile expo this year and expand international exposure through trade shows and cross-border e-commerce, targeting export growth of more than 15 percent in 2026.

"We will continue to enhance recognition of our products at home and abroad," Ren said.

zhangyu1@chinadaily.com.cn