The production base of Gree, a domestic giant in air conditioners in Hefei city, East China's Anhui province [Photo from WeChat account hefeigaoxinfabu]

The home appliance industry is a trump card played well by Hefei, the capital city of East China's Anhui province. 

Home to China's largest home appliance industrial base, Hefei also saw its related industry realizing annual output of 100 billion yuan ($14.4 billion), the first among local business sectors to reach that figure. 

Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone, sitting at the city's western corner, plays a pivotal role in promoting the development of the local home appliance industry, especially the "white" household series of air conditioners (ACs), washing machines, refrigerators and other smart appliances. 

Five industrial giants, including Gree, Midea and Whirlpool, have gathered at the zone, and more than 150 supporting companies are also ready to manufacture downstream products.

A screen shot of a video demonstrating what is going in Hefei's home appliance industry in one minute [Photo from WeChat account hefeigaoxinfabu]

The zone's soaring momentum relies on ongoing structural upgrading. Take Gree as an example. The enterprise sold nearly 4.8 million commercial central ACs in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent. The star product of Midea has also changed from twin-tub washers to fully automatic and roller washing machines. 

The companies also put emphasis on automatizing their manufacturing capabilities, such as bringing in more industrial robots to improve quality and efficiency. 

Research and development is another high land which companies are committed to occupy. They have invested a great deal in improving their innovative strength and have gained many patent approvals.