In Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province, China, there is a town called Puyuan. Located in the Jiangnan water region, Puyuan covers about 60 square kilometers. It has no vast grasslands and is not a traditional wool-producing area, yet it has grown into one of China’s most important production bases and distribution centers for wool knitwear.
Today, Puyuan has built a complete knitwear industry system. From yarn sourcing, knitting, pattern development, garment manufacturing, and quality control to wholesale markets, logistics, and cross-border sales, most of the key steps required to make a sweater can be completed efficiently within this town and its surrounding areas.
According to public information, Puyuan produces and sells a large volume of sweaters every year. Its products are sold across China and exported to many countries and regions. With specialized sweater markets, numerous knitwear companies, merchants, and industry workers, Puyuan has become one of the most representative industrial clusters in China’s knitwear sector.
The story of Puyuan is not only the story of a manufacturing town. It also shows how traditional textile culture, modern supply chains, digital production, and brand development can grow together on the same piece of land.
Historical Roots: From Silk Tradition to Knitwear Industry
Puyuan’s textile history began long before its modern sweater industry.
As early as the Southern Song dynasty, the Pu family settled in this area, and Puyuan gradually developed traditions related to mulberry cultivation, silk reeling, and weaving. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, Puyuan silk, known as “Puchou,” had become well known for its fine texture, soft luster, and durability. It was once offered as tribute to the imperial court, helping Puyuan become an important silk-producing town in the Jiangnan region.
Although the traditional silk industry later declined, Puyuan’s understanding of fibers, weaving, and market distribution remained. This long accumulation of textile experience became an important foundation for the rise of its sweater industry.
In 1976, a local production cooperative in Puyuan purchased three hand-operated flat knitting machines and began experimenting with sweater production. The equipment was simple, and early production relied heavily on manual work and family workshops. Yet this moment marked the beginning of Puyuan’s modern knitwear industry.
As market demand grew, more families and small factories joined the production of knitwear. The sound of hand-operated knitting machines once filled the town, and Puyuan gradually transformed from a traditional agricultural town into a specialized sweater production base.
In 1988, Puyuan built its first sweater and wool yarn trading market. This marked the transition of the local knitwear industry from scattered street trading to a more standardized and scaled stage of development.
Industrial Cluster: The Complete Supply Chain Behind a Sweater
One of the main reasons Puyuan became an important knitwear center is its highly concentrated supply chain.
In Puyuan and its surrounding areas, mature resources are available for almost every step of knitwear production: raw materials, yarns, knitting, dyeing and finishing, trims, design, sampling, garment manufacturing, wholesale, warehousing, and logistics. For brands and buyers, this means higher communication efficiency, shorter development cycles, and more flexible production options.
Here, a sweater can move from design sketch to sample, then to small-batch production and market distribution within a relatively short time. Yarn, buttons, zippers, hang tags, packaging, and logistics can all be coordinated nearby. This industrial concentration gives Puyuan clear advantages in cost, efficiency, and response speed.
Puyuan’s strength is not only large-scale production. More importantly, it can support multiple categories, smaller order quantities, and quick response production. This is especially valuable in today’s fast-changing fashion market.
Technology Upgrade: From Hand-Operated Machines to Digital Knitting
In the early years, Puyuan’s sweater industry relied mainly on hand-operated flat knitting machines and family workshops. As the industry developed, local companies continued to introduce more advanced knitting equipment and management systems.
Today, many factories use computerized flat knitting machines and whole-garment knitting technology. Whole-garment knitting can create a nearly complete garment directly through computer programming, reducing traditional sewing processes and material waste. Compared with traditional production methods, it improves efficiency and creates a smoother, more comfortable wearing experience.
Digital management is also changing Puyuan’s supply chain. Through ERP systems, order management tools, and production data coordination, companies can better understand inventory, orders, and production progress. When a new style becomes popular in the market, factories can respond quickly with replenishment and adjustments.
This ability to handle small orders with fast turnaround makes Puyuan suitable not only for traditional wholesale markets, but also for e-commerce, independent brands, and cross-border supply chains.
From Manufacturing to Brand Building
In the past, many companies in Puyuan mainly focused on OEM production and wholesale, supplying large quantities of sweaters to domestic and overseas markets. As consumer demand has changed, Puyuan has also started moving from pure manufacturing toward design, branding, and fashion expression.
In recent years, more designers, original brands, and e-commerce teams have entered Puyuan. The town has also been promoting design development, brand incubation, livestream e-commerce, and cross-border trade. Sweaters are no longer seen only as basic warm layers. They are increasingly becoming a clothing category that expresses lifestyle, aesthetics, and quality.
Puyuan’s design direction is becoming more diverse. In addition to classic wool sweaters and knitted cardigans, more knitwear pieces are now designed for commuting, casual dressing, travel, layering, and the everyday wardrobes of younger consumers. Modern minimalism, refined texture, Eastern details, and international silhouettes are all being integrated into Puyuan’s products.
For overseas consumers, Puyuan represents more than “Made in China.” It is a mature knitwear ecosystem that connects yarn, craftsmanship, design, and supply chain capability into stable product strength.
Industry and City: Where Traditional Town Culture Meets Modern Markets
Puyuan is not only an industrial town. It is also a Jiangnan water town with cultural heritage.
Today, modern sweater markets, livestream bases, digital trade platforms, and supply chain companies operate alongside traditional-style streets and restored ancient town spaces. Industry, commerce, and culture develop together here.
The development of Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town has given the town’s textile history and modern knitwear industry a new way to be seen. Fashion events, brand showcases, design launches, and cultural tourism have helped Puyuan move beyond being only a production and trading center. It is gradually becoming a window into Chinese knitwear culture and modern fashion industry development.
This model of “industry + market + culture” gives Puyuan’s sweater industry a richer brand story and provides a new foundation for local brands to reach international markets.
Looking Ahead: More Sustainable, More Digital, More Global
As global consumers pay more attention to materials, comfort, sustainability, and long-term value, Puyuan’s knitwear industry continues to upgrade.
Its future development is likely to focus on three directions.
- More sustainable materials and production methods: Natural fibers, recycled fibers, eco-friendly dyeing and finishing, and waste-reducing production technologies are becoming important trends in the knitwear industry.
- A more efficient digital supply chain: Through data analysis, AI-assisted design, and smart production management, sweater companies can better understand market demand and reduce inventory pressure.
- More international brand communication: More brands from Puyuan are beginning to speak to global consumers with clearer product stories, craftsmanship narratives, and design language.
Puyuan’s advantage comes from decades of industrial accumulation and its ability to keep evolving. From traditional silk to modern wool sweaters, and from local manufacturing to global knitwear brands, Puyuan continues to move forward around fibers, weaving, and lifestyle.
Conclusion
Puyuan’s story is the story of a Jiangnan town reaching the world through textiles.
From Puchou silk in the Ming and Qing dynasties, to three hand-operated knitting machines in 1976, to today’s complete knitwear supply chain, Puyuan has built a unique industrial capability over several decades. It has no sheep, yet sweaters have become its most recognizable symbol. It is not a global metropolis, yet it has the supply chain efficiency to connect with international markets.
For Wynool, Puyuan is not only a place of origin. It is the starting point of the brand. The town’s weaving experience, industrial scale, craftsmanship, and supply chain capability form the foundation of how Wynool understands knitwear.
Wynool aims to transform Puyuan’s knitwear experience into pieces made for modern everyday life. They are soft, comfortable, timeless, and designed to stay with you longer.
One yarn connects Puyuan’s past with its future.
One sweater can connect Eastern textile tradition with the everyday wardrobes of global consumers.
