The first China International School Clothing International Expo opened on Dec 28 in Shishi cit, in the port city of Quanzhou in southeastern Fujian province. 

The organizers said that more than 300 school uniform companies across the country participated in the exhibition.

With its theme "building healthy and beautiful campuses", the event aimed to promote Chinese campus apparel to the international market based on the Shishi textile and apparel industry. 

The expo was located in the Shishi Clothing City Exhibition and Art Center in Quanzhou city, with an exhibition area of about 30,000 square meters. 

The exhibition area was divided into various sections, including a school uniform enterprise area, school uniform boutique area, as well as a school uniform accessories and raw materials exhibition area. 

Exhibited products covered kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools and high school uniforms. Casual clothes, sportswear, performance clothes, ethnic clothing and various campus clothing are also being exhibited at the center. 

Apart from clothing, school bags, home textiles, bed quilts, fabrics, school badge accessories are also being featured. 

A number of activities were also organized during the expo. These included the 1st national campus fashion design competition, the High-quality Campus Apparel Development Conference and the annual meeting of the School Logistics Equipment Management Branch of the China Educational Equipment Industrial Association. 

According to local officials, local school uniform manufacturers who participated in tenders for international supply contracts for school uniforms -- with an annual cumulative contract value of 5 million yuan ($720,429) or more -- will be rewarded with 5 percent of the total invoice price of the sales invoice issued in Shishi. 

Officials said those who participate in major exhibitions sponsored by provincial associations and above will be given a 50 percent subsidy -- and the maximum subsidy for a single standard exhibition stand will be more than 20,000 yuan. 

Local reports said that online school uniform platforms are free of charge for merchants, aiming to help local companies to expand into the professional campus apparel market in China. Their services are expected to cover 2,850 counties in the near future. 

Several local uniform companies, with the support of the city government, participated in China International Fashion Week on Oct 26 this year, helping to put the spotlight on the new trends in school uniform fashions. 

According to experts, the supply and demand  for campus apparel is currently expanding rapidly, and there is an urgent need to establish an campus apparel industrial integration zone. 

Officials said Shishi is one of the most developed areas in Fujian Province in the sector, with advanced private economy. They said a complete industrial chain has formed in the city, covering such fields as bleaching and finishing, garment processing, auxiliary materials production and marketing. 

The school uniform industry reflects the broader high-quality commercial development in Quanzhou city. In recent years, Shishi has continuously promoted the development of a comprehensive business sector -- covering textiles and clothing, intelligent manufacturing, seafood, professional markets, port logistics and international tourism. 

According to statistics, since 2019 Shishi’s authorities have approved 233 industrial projects, of which 116 have gone into production. The intelligent manufacturing industry has achieved an annual output value of 18 billion yuan, an increase of 30 percent year-on-year and industrial investment in 2019 increased by 20 percent over the previous year.

Visitors come to check out the first China International School Clothing International Expo, which opened on Dec 28 in Shishi in Quanzhou. More than 300 school uniform companies across the country participated in the exhibition. [Photo/qzwb.com]

Uniforms for elementary school students are exhibited at the first China International School Clothing International Expo. [Photo/qzwb.com]