Foshan

Where the furniture is made.

Foshan in Guangdong is one of the densest concentrations of furniture manufacturing in the world. Here is what that means for a project, and why we work from there.

Stacked chairs and seat shells in a furniture factory

A cluster, not a factory

Furniture manufacturing in Foshan is concentrated in the Shunde district. Lecong holds the trade, with showrooms where manufacturers display what they can do. Longjiang holds production. Having it within a few tens of kilometres of each other means we can visit several manufacturers on the same day and compare them while the impressions are still fresh.

Specialisation is the point

In a cluster no single factory has to do everything. One makes frames, another upholstery, a third finishing, a fourth fittings. For a bespoke product that means the parts can be made by whoever is best at that particular craft, without freight between the stages eating up what you gained. That possibility is the hard thing to find elsewhere.

Why we sit in Shenzhen

Our warehouse and our staff are in Shenzhen, about a hundred kilometres from Foshan. Close enough to reach a factory in the morning and be back the same day, but in a port and logistics city of its own. Goods from several manufacturers are brought together with us, inspected, and sent on as one delivery.

Where it is

Province
Guangdong
Region
Pearl River Delta
To Guangzhou
About 30 kilometres
To our warehouse in Shenzhen
About 100 kilometres
Trade
Lecong, Shunde
Manufacturing
Longjiang, Shunde
A colonnade along an old arcaded street, seen in perspective

The city before the furniture

Foshan is older than its furniture industry, and known for something else entirely. The city is often called the home of Chinese martial arts. Ip Man, who later taught Bruce Lee wing chun, was born here in 1893. Wong Fei-hung came from Xiqiao in Nanhai. Bruce Lee own family came from Shunde, the same district where the furniture is made today.

None of that says anything about the quality of a chair. But it says something about a city that has lived on craft and apprenticeship for a long time, and it shows in how the workshops are organised.

A half-finished lion head with a bamboo frame, brushes and paint on a workbench

The rest of the city

Anyone who travels here to look at factories sees something else as well. Foshan is an old Lingnan city, with ceramics from Shiwan, temples, lion dance and a food culture that Shunde is known for far beyond China. It has nothing to do with a furniture order. But it makes the trip more than an inspection.

A courtyard in a classical Lingnan garden with latticed windows and a pond
Lingnan garden
Small glazed ceramic figures from Shiwan on an old shelf
Ceramics from Shiwan
A yum cha breakfast from above with bamboo baskets, a teapot and rice noodle rolls
Yum cha
  • A polaroid of double skin milk, a milk pudding from Shunde
  • A polaroid of fried milk, a dessert from Daliang in Shunde
  • A polaroid of raw fish Shunde style with small bowls of condiments
  • A polaroid of a yum cha table with bamboo baskets, a teapot and cups
  • A polaroid of Lunjiao cake, a white rice milk cake, and a glass of tea
  • A polaroid of a lion dance head on a shelf in a workshop
  • A polaroid of a ceramic roof with small figures on a Lingnan style temple
  • A polaroid of an old street with arcaded houses and a colonnade
  • A polaroid of an extravagant furniture mall facade at dusk
  • A polaroid of a large showroom of tiles

The images were made to describe the city. They were not photographed on location.

Fish ponds and dykes in the Pearl River Delta in dawn mist, seen from the air

Visiting the factories

If you want to see production with your own eyes, we arrange the trip. It is often what settles a larger project, because half a day in a factory says more than any report we could write.

Ask about a visit
  • We select which manufacturers are worth a visit and book the times
  • We write the invitations needed for a visa application
  • We plan the route between factories, so the days are enough
  • We arrange local transport and interpreters during the visits
  • You pay your own travel costs, we add no margin to them

Visas

Chinese visa rules change at short notice, and what applied last quarter need not apply next. We will tell you what applies when you ask, but allow margin in the schedule.

Have a project coming up?

Tell us what needs furnishing, roughly how much and when. We will come back with questions or a first proposal.

Tell us about your project