Strollers from Hanchuan in C China's Hubei find success overseas

中国湖北汉川童车在海外大获成功

In the exhibition hall of a company in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province, sales manager Pan Fan skillfully demonstrates how to use a stroller.

在中国中部湖北省汉川市的一家公司展厅里，销售经理潘凡熟练地演示了如何使用婴儿车。

"This is our latest stroller model, mass-produced just this May, and designed primarily for European and Central Asian markets," Pan said.

“这是我们最新的婴儿车款式，今年5月刚刚量产，主要面向欧洲和中亚市场设计，”潘说。

The company, Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd., exported 390,000 strollers last year, and has now entered over 40 countries and regions including Europe, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

湖北贝乐库儿童用品有限公司去年出口了39万辆婴儿车，现已进入包括欧洲、美国、日本和韩国在内的40多个国家和地区。

①: Workers produce strollers at Hubei Ruizhi Children Appliances Co., Ltd. in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

图①：在中国中部湖北省汉川市的湖北瑞智儿童用品有限公司，工人们正在生产婴儿车。（人民日报海外版/吴军）

②: Pan Fan (1st L), sales manager of Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd., introduces a stroller to customers in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

图②：潘凡（左一），湖北贝乐库儿童用品有限公司销售经理，在中国中部湖北省汉川市向顾客介绍婴儿车。（人民日报海外版/吴军）

③: A stroller is tested at the Hubei provincial center for quality inspection and testing of strollers. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

③：一辆婴儿车正在湖北省婴儿车质量检验检测中心接受检测。（人民日报海外版/吴军）

④: Photo shows strollers on display in the exhibition hall of Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd. in Hanchuan city, central China's Hubei Province. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Wu Jun)

图④：图为在中国中部湖北省汉川市湖北贝乐酷儿童用品有限公司展厅内展出的婴儿车。（人民日报海外版/吴军）

It is a sales company under Yangtian Group, specializing in strollers, cribs, high chairs, and other infant products. Thanks to over 30 years of dedication, Yangtian, one of the earliest enterprises engaged in stroller production in Hanchuan, has helped turn the city into one of China's seven major stroller production hubs, alongside many other manufacturers and supporting enterprises.

它是扬天集团旗下的一家销售公司，专门从事婴儿车、婴儿床、高脚椅和其他婴儿用品的生产。得益于30多年的不懈努力，作为汉川最早从事婴儿车生产的企业之一，扬天与其他众多制造商和配套企业携手，共同将汉川打造成中国七大婴儿车生产中心之一。

Known as the "stroller capital of central China," Hanchuan saw export value of the stroller industry hit $58.38 million last year, up 35.7 percent year on year, and the total output value of the sector reach 2.8 billion yuan ($388.51 million), according to Zhong Shoucheng, secretary-general of the Hanchuan Stroller Association.

汉川童车协会秘书长钟守成介绍，汉川被誉为“华中童车之都”，去年童车行业的出口额达到5838万美元，同比增长35.7%，行业总产值达到28亿元人民币（约合3.8851亿美元）。

Zhong noted that Hanchuan is home to 36 stroller manufacturers and 48 supporting companies, producing more than 9 million units of strollers, cribs, and pet strollers annually.

钟指出，汉川拥有36家婴儿车制造商和48家配套公司，每年生产超过900万件婴儿车、婴儿床和宠物推车。

Hanchuan's stroller story began in the 1980s when locals started making parts for a stroller factory in Wuhan, capital of Hubei. By the 1990s, local entrepreneurs had set up their own factories.

汉川的童车故事始于20世纪80年代，当时当地人开始为位于湖北省会武汉的一家童车厂生产零部件。到了20世纪90年代，当地企业家们已经建立了自己的工厂。

One such entrepreneur, Hu Xiaohong, entered the stroller business and later renamed his company Hubei Yangtian Plastic Products Co., Ltd., producing both plastic stroller components and fully assembled strollers as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

其中一位企业家胡晓红进入了婴儿车行业，后来将他的公司更名为湖北扬天塑料制品有限公司，作为原始设备制造商（OEM）生产塑料婴儿车零部件和完全组装的婴儿车。

In 2012, his son, Hu Chengpeng, took up the baton, becoming a second-generation stroller entrepreneur.

2012年，他的儿子胡成鹏接过接力棒，成为第二代童车企业家。

"Back then, the domestic stroller market was extremely competitive, with nearly 100 related manufacturers in Hanchuan alone," said Hu Chengpeng.

“当时，国内童车市场竞争异常激烈，仅汉川就有近百家相关制造商，”胡成鹏说道。

After visiting factories in south China's Guangdong Province, east China's Jiangsu Province, and elsewhere, he decided to focus on component production and the design of finished strollers, outsourcing manufacturing and repurchasing finished strollers for e-commerce sales.

在参观了中国南方广东省、中国东方江苏省以及其他地方的工厂后，他决定专注于零部件生产和成品婴儿车的设计，将制造业务外包，并重新采购成品婴儿车用于电子商务销售。

In 2014, he founded Hubei Belecoo Children's Products Co., Ltd., launched the "Belecoo" brand and prioritized e-commerce. Today, Belecoo boasts over 50 stroller models with a daily production capacity of more than 800 units, Hu Chengpeng said.

2014年，他创立了湖北贝乐库儿童用品有限公司，推出了“贝乐库”品牌，并优先发展电子商务。胡成鹏表示，如今，贝乐库拥有50多款婴儿推车，日产能超过800台。

Like Hu Chengpeng, many of Hanchuan's young entrepreneurs have taken over their family businesses, creating new brands. According to Zhong, Hanchuan now has 80 stroller assembly lines and over 50 registered stroller trademarks.

像胡成鹏一样，汉川的许多年轻企业家都接管了家族企业，并创立了新品牌。据钟先生介绍，汉川现有80条婴儿车装配线，并拥有50多个注册的婴儿车商标。

In 2016, Hu Chengpeng led his company into the manufacturing of finished strollers, doubling sales that year.

2016年，胡成鹏带领公司开始生产成品婴儿车，当年销售额翻了一番。

"We've applied for over 150 patents. We now manufacture 80 percent of components used in Belecoo strollers," he said.

“我们已经申请了150多项专利。我们现在生产Belecoo婴儿车80%的零部件，”他说道。

However, Hanchuan's rise as a stroller hub was not without challenges—lack of innovation and intellectual property protection awareness.

然而，汉川作为婴儿车中心的崛起并非一帆风顺——它缺乏创新，也缺乏知识产权保护意识。

"Every time a hot-selling stroller hit the market, it was immediately copied. At one point, over 30 companies were producing the exact same model," Zhong recalled.

钟回忆道：“每当一款热销的婴儿车上市，很快就会被模仿。曾有一度，有超过30家公司在生产一模一样的款式。”。

This led to fierce price wars. "Profit margins dropped to as low as 5 yuan per stroller," said Deng Fangbo, deputy general manager of Hubei Ruizhi Children Appliances Co., Ltd.

这引发了激烈的价格战。“每辆婴儿车的利润已经低至5元人民币，”湖北瑞之儿童用品有限公司副总经理邓方波说道。

There were also quality control problems. In 2017, the local government issued an action plan and established a leadership group to improve product quality.

此外，还存在质量控制问题。2017年，当地政府发布了一项行动计划，并成立了领导小组，以提高产品质量。

"We brought in experts to review each company in areas such as product design, standards implementation, and quality control," said Zhong. Experts visited 23 factories, found 104 quality problems, and made 56 recommendations.

钟说：“我们请来了专家，对每家公司在产品设计、标准执行和质量控制等方面进行审查。”专家们走访了23家工厂，发现了104个质量问题，并提出了56条建议。

Deng shared how his company responded. "We hired quality experts to analyze our entire production line and invested millions of yuan in intelligent equipment."

邓分享了他的公司是如何应对的。“我们聘请了质量专家来分析我们的整个生产线，并在智能设备上投资了数百万元人民币。”

After upgrading to smart manufacturing, the company's production efficiency and yield rate soared, with daily output now reaching 3,000 units, Deng added.

邓补充道，在升级至智能制造后，公司的生产效率和良率大幅提升，目前日产量已达到3000台。

Eight leading companies in Hanchuan have also established in-house testing labs capable of evaluating every detail from fabrics and tubing to screws and finished strollers, solving quality problems before mass production begins, Zhong said.

钟说，汉川的八家龙头企业还建立了内部测试实验室，能够评估从面料、管材到螺丝和成品婴儿车的每一个细节，在大规模生产开始前解决质量问题。

Inspired by the success of early adopters, others followed suit, embracing tech upgrades and innovation. According to Zhong, after the transformations, research and development (R&D) investment in the city's stroller industry has exceeded 100 million yuan.

受到早期采用者的成功鼓舞，其他人纷纷效仿，积极进行技术升级和创新。据钟先生介绍，转型后，该市童车行业的研发（R&D）投资已超过1亿元人民币。

In September 2021, 11 local stroller companies jointly issued new evaluation standards stricter than national benchmarks.

2021年9月，11家本土童车企业联合发布了比国家基准更为严格的新评估标准。

Before 2000, the city's stroller industry primarily focused on the domestic market. But a few forward-thinking companies decided to try their luck at the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, aiming to break into global markets.

2000年之前，该市的童车行业主要聚焦于国内市场。但少数具有前瞻性的公司决定在中国进出口商品交易会（又称广交会）上碰碰运气，以期打入全球市场。

Hubei Ruizhi Children Appliances Co., Ltd. explores overseas opportunities primarily through trade expos like the Canton Fair, which has become the main gateway for many Hanchuan businesses.

湖北瑞智儿童用品有限公司主要通过广交会等贸易展览会探索海外商机，广交会已成为许多汉川企业进入海外市场的主要门户。

Deng noted that approximately 40 percent of his company's products are now sold overseas.

邓指出，他们公司目前约有40%的产品销往海外。

According to Zhong, 10 stroller companies from Hanchuan joined the 137th Canton Fair in the first half of this year, occupying 32 booths in the "Toys" and "Maternal & Infant Products" sections – 71 percent of the city's total booths, marking a record high.

据钟先生介绍，今年上半年，汉川有10家童车企业参加了第137届广交会，在“玩具”和“母婴用品”展区占据了32个展位，占该市展位总数的71%，创历史新高。

As Hanchuan's stroller companies go global, they are not just complying with international standards and registering trademarks – they're also designing products tailored to customer needs in different regions.

随着汉川的童车企业走向全球，他们不仅遵守国际标准并注册商标，还根据不同地区的客户需求设计定制产品。

By zeroing in on what global consumers want, Hanchuan's strollers are making waves overseas.

汉川童车公司专注于全球消费者的需求，在海外市场掀起了一股热潮。

In recent years, the city's stroller enterprises have accelerated expansion into countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, tapping into markets in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

近年来，该市的童车企业加快向参与“一带一路”倡议的国家扩张，进军非洲、东南亚和中东市场。