Farming region in China becomes ‘lingerie capital’

Farming region in China becomes ‘lingerie capital’

GUANYUN, China: Americans like their lingerie to be risque, Europeans prefer it more classy, and Chinese remain a bit shy but are opening up. But the biggest order of all came from North Korea. So goes the street-corner discussion in Guanyun, a sleepy coastal county that for generations followed the rhythms of wheat and rice cultivation, but today concerns itself with global preferences on sensual wear.

The flat farming region between Beijing and Shanghai is China's self-proclaimed "Lingerie Capital“, where sewing machines hum in village-level micro-factories to meet up to 70 percent of the fast-growing domestic demand. Millions more items are exported annually in a textbook example of the ability of Internet-enabled Chinese entrepreneurs to profit from even the most off-the-wall idea.

The man widely credited with lighting the spark is Lei Congrui, a lanky 30-year-old with a ponytail and cap who would look at home on a skateboard. It all happened almost by accident. As a teenager, Lei began making extra cash by hawking various consumer goods on China's rapidly growing e-commerce sites 15 years ago.

"Customers kept asking if we have any lingerie. I had never heard of it before, but I just said 'yes' and then looked up what it