Shantou shines as world's toy capital

The sound of a piano rang out inside a newly built international exhibition center in Shantou, Guangdong province, as a musician tickled the "ivory" on a piano made of over 110,000 plastic building blocks.

The piano, which was completed by four designers and five builders from Shantou Gooders Precision Technology Co over the space of nearly half a year, was displayed during the 23rd Shantou Chenghai International Toys and Gifts Fair.

"We wanted to create the piano to demonstrate that China's building block design capabilities are on par with those abroad, as currently there is no 1:1 playable building block piano available on the market," said Chen Hongcheng, head of the large model division at Gooders.

All sound-producing components of the piano, including its electronic board, were independently developed by designers with the Guangdong-based company, which focuses on the design and manufacture of plastic building blocks.

"The internal structure of the piano, as well as the keys, tones and touch, can essentially reproduce the sound and feel of a real piano," said Chen.

The company was not alone in demonstrating innovative toys and gifts. The expo, which concluded in late October in Shantou, attracted a total of 557 toymakers, equipment manufacturers, accessory suppliers and IP licensing companies to showcase their resources and strengths in the toys and gifts sector.

"We will build more innovative toy products made of building blocks in the future, to meet the growing demand for high-end toys at home and abroad," said Chen.

As a high-tech company specializing in the research, design and production of building block components, the company produces over 10 billion building block units annually. During the expo, the company showcased a series of products including space-themed, animal-themed and art sculpture building blocks, demonstrating its innovative capabilities in the precision toy manufacturing field.

According to statistics from the expo's organizers, over 200,000 products were showcased during the event, with more than 80,000 being new products for the current season.

"Only by maintaining an innovative approach in design and manufacturing toys could we better tap the domestic and overseas markets," said Chen.

The on-site transactions and intended contracts signed at the expo amounted to 16.7 billion yuan ($2.35 billion), a record high for the event, organizers said.

Nearly 60 percent of children worldwide have played with toys from Shantou, which is the most comprehensive and largest production and trading base for plastic toys in China, with the highest market share, said Wen Zhanbin, Party chief of Shantou.

The city has over 50,000 toy sector entities, with its production volume dominating the national market and making it the top regional toy producer in terms of annual output value in the country, Wen said.

"Today's Shantou toys and gifts showcase the fusion charm of traditional culture and fashion trends," said Wen.

This year's expo has also introduced an international exhibition area for the first time, attracting 23 overseas companies from Pakistan, South Korea and others to participate, further enriching the range of exhibits.