Cash in cane, Hebei villagers crafting money-making chairs

Residents like him now live better, easier lives thanks to the development of the industry, which employs more than 20,000 people in the area. "An experienced worker can weave six or seven cane chairs a day and make between 10 and 20 yuan on each, depending on size," said Bai Xiao, Dongzhangpu Party chief.

He said it all started in 2011, when two villagers from Dongzhangpu came back home and began to make cane chairs.

They had picked up the skill working at furniture factories elsewhere, and after coming back, they began to teach their neighbors.

They brought in cane from neighboring Shandong province and gave it to neighbors to help them weave. Once the chairs were ready, middlemen sold them to local furniture factories.

In 2013, the villagers started selling their chairs directly to the market, making good profits.

Because it was easy to learn and not very labor intensive, more and more villagers began to use their spare time to weave chairs. As incomes increased, the local government started to offer help in setting up factories.

Now, there are more than 20 factories producing chair supports and 30 weaving chairs. All 34 villages in the town are involved and produced 240 million yuan in goods last year.

About 5,000 sets of chairs are made a day. Most are sold on the Chinese mainland, but about 300,000 sets are exported to the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other nations.

"They are very popular," Bai said. "Since they're handmade with cane, they're warm in winter and cool in summer."