Qingyuan produces one in four pencils worldwide

Colored pencils produced in Qingyuan county in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: lsnews]

Qingyuan county in Lishui, Zhejiang province, is one of China's largest pencil manufacturing bases, with more than 50 enterprises producing 100 billion pencils annually.

This accounts for over 40 percent of the national total, and over 85 percent are exported to more than 100 countries and regions, including Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.

The industry traces back to November 1978, when Qingyuan's first pencil enterprise, Zhejiang Qingyuan Zhenan Pencil, was established, producing the province's first pencil.

In 2009, the county created the country's first pencil cultural industrial park around Zhukou Industrial Park, boosting equipment upgrades, R&D, and branding. Qingyuan later won recognition as China's pencil production base and national export pencil quality and safety demonstration zone.

After more than 40 years, a complete industrial chain covering pencils, leads, erasers, soft boards, printing, and packaging has taken shape. Product offerings have expanded from basic writing pencils to include craft, art, charcoal, cartoon, colored, eyebrow pencils, and cosmetic lines, with over 600 registered brands.

The shift to premium art colored pencils marked a major upgrade, while branching out from student stationery into beauty and cosmetics marked a new advancement, opening fresh opportunities in a growing market.

Ye Changping, director of the county's economic and commerce bureau, said that one in every four pencils made worldwide comes from Qingyuan.

He added that the county is advancing a "pencil plus" integrated model to extend the downstream chain, push toward higher‑end products, and encourage cross‑sector innovation, targeting 10 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) in total output within five years.