Teahouse links entrepreneurs with companies

She came up with an idea to create an online platform last year to help producers to cope with the changing market.

The idea didn't turn into reality until she met Fu Qian, who runs a new type of incubation center for startups, such as Lu's company, Fuhuizizai.

Fu named his incubation center Fengqi Teahouse, which incorporates both a teahouse and an online cloud platform.

"Taking advantage of internet technologies, the incubation center aims to link startups with capital, technology, human resources and other resources at home and abroad, and offers integrated support for entrepreneurship," Fu said.

Since it settled in Wuzhen in October 2015, Fengqi Teahouse has incubated more than 40 companies, with Lu's company being one of them.

Fengqi has been helping those whose business relies on smart technologies.

With Fu's financial support and technological guidance, Lu's company has been operating an online platform that was designed to serve multiple purposes.

"First, it is a platform for educating factory owners about fashion trends and helping to improve their awareness of good design, as many talented designers have been available for the online courses," Lu said.

"Second, it is also an exhibition platform that helps to promote good design to more people, especially in the garment production industry," she said, adding that it is also a platform for marketing.

Other companies incubated by Fengqi include the locally based Huateng Husbandry. The company uses cameras and smartphone apps to track the process of pork production.

"We are glad to see that nowadays there are more people starting their businesses with the help of smart technologies and online platforms, which breaks the limitations of physical locations and distances," Fu said.

The Fengqi Teahouse incubation center has received an investment of 870 million yuan ($131.6 million) from Ping An Real Estate, a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance Co.