Bustling throngs on the streets of Shiling Town, Huadu District, are exchanging over the latest trend of leather goods and bags, with enthusiasm heated as the hot weather in early summer.

In this small town of 136.31 square kilometers, there are more than 8,800 manufacturers of luggage and leather goods. "Shiling Leather" is the common name of these manufacturers; between them there are registered trademarks in 19 countries, an annual output of more than 700 million leather bags, and an annual transaction volume of more than 50 billion yuan, signifying the rising of "Shiling brand" on the world stage.

From OEM production to the creation of its own brand, "Shiling Leather" experienced the pains of development. Huang Huigu is a witness of Shiling Leather's transformation into butterfly, who entered the industry in 1997 when he was only 20 years old by producing computer bags under the OEM mode.

By then, Shiling luggage and leather goods industry was already two years from the establishment of its first handicraft workshop in 1978. The inflowing orders made many earn "quick money", and Huang Huigu was also one of them. But the year 2008 saw many small and medium-sized enterprises close down when orders stopped, and leading OEM factories had their orders reduced by 30% to 50%. It dawned on Huang Huigu and his peers that they had to step out of the "comfort zone" to build their own brands and enter the international market.

Now, with more than 5,000 independent brands of leather goods and bags like those of Huang Huigu's, a characteristic industrial cluster of 10 billion yuan is taking shape in Shiling Town.

Can industrial clustering make Shiling leather goods famous in the international market? How can the regional economy catch the "fast train" of the Internet to accelerate the digital transformation of industries? According to Cai Zhengbing, executive chair of the Shiling Leather Profession Chamber of Commerce, Shiling can uses the collaborative manufacturing platform of the luggage industry chain to help the contracted enterprises realize the networked collaboration to "find people, materials, and processing capacity", enabling luggage companies to efficiently secure the "people, things, and materials" needed in the production chain without leaving the town, and reduce production and labor costs.

Following the innovation and brand awareness of the enterprises came the "growing pain" of copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

A relevant leader of Huadu District said: "We have established a fast IPR protection service center in the park, which on the one hand helps enterprises quickly apply for patents under the guidance of the National Intellectual Property Administration, and on the other hand, quickly provides rights protection assistance upon infringement reports and complaints. ”

"Now, the leather goods industry has become a bright feature of Guangzhou as a fashion capital." Huang Huigu said: "In the future, we will rely on the development of characteristic industries, make good use of the Internet, take the pulse of the needs of young users, and have a greater say in industrial development.”

It was high noon when the research interview ended, and the sun after rain shone on the white gate of the creative park, which was in the shape of a sewing machine, stylish and dazzling.