White-goose industry prospers in Yu’an district, China’s Anhui

Photo shows the Chengnan industrial park in Yu’an district, Lu’an city, east China’s Anhui Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Yu’an district committee)

As an automatic badminton pitching machine works, Wang Li keenly observes the flight and placement of each newly produced shuttlecock at a workshop in Xin’an town, Yu’an district, Lu’an city, east China’s Anhui Province.

Wang is a quality inspector at Yuxiang Sports Co., Ltd. in the city. “Nowadays, shuttlecocks are machine-produced and they are of high quality,” Wang said, adding that the town’s shuttlecock industry is thriving and she can earn a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan ($697.29) near home.

Statistics show that Lu’an city raises nearly 15 million Wanxi white geese, a local species, each year. The geese provide a solid foundation for the development of the feather and down industry in Yu’an district.

In Xin’an town, three of its four large-scale enterprises are shuttlecock manufacturers, including Yuxiang Sports Co., Ltd., which has almost achieved complete automated production.

Zhang Xinsheng, founder of the company, said Lu’an has established a complete white-goose industrial chain, and the high-quality feathers of Wanxi white geese, known for their whiteness and texture, are ideal for the production of shuttlecocks.

An employee works at a shuttlecock workshop in Yu’an district, Lu’an city, east China’s Anhui Province. (People’s Daily Online/Hu Yusong)

Zhang said the company upgraded its production lines in 2020 thanks to cooperation with international brands, increasing its monthly production to over 100,000 dozen shuttlecocks. The company’s shuttlecocks reach markets in east China’s Zhejiang Province, south China’s Guangdong Province, southeast China’s Xiamen city, and Southeast Asia, and are used in major international sporting events.

Yu’an district has also become an important production base for down and related products in China.

In 2021, Anhui Liuqiao Supply Chain Co., Ltd. was established in Chengnan town in the district. It launched a down processing project, which started production in July 2023, with an annual production value reaching 750 million yuan.

In recent years, the district Party committee and government have listed the production of Wanxi white geese as one of the five key agricultural specialty industry for intensive cultivation. Specialized policies and financial support have been provided to promote the growth of breeding bases and processing enterprises, and goose-related products are sold both domestically and internationally. The value of the entire industrial chain has reached 4 billion yuan annually, with a total of 3.58 million Wanxi white geese raised in the district.

A worker displays feathers of Wanxi white geese, a local species, in Yu’an district, Lu’an city, east China’s Anhui Province. (People’s Daily Online/Hu Yusong)