The workshop of Fujian Xiaomuwang Mold Manufacturing Co., Ltd., based at the Hanjiang Mold Industrial Park in Putian, southeast China's Fujian Province, offers a glimpse into how new shoemaking technologies are transforming production.

"For a complex shoe mold, traditional methods take about a month. With 3D printing, we can produce it in 24 hours, and in the fastest cases, deliver within two days," said Wang Hang, chairman of the company.

Wang said the company's self-developed one-click positioning system boosts 3D-printing precision to 0.01 millimeters. This keeps grafting errors for complex molds at the micron level.

The company's independently developed integrated grafting process also greatly increases mold durability. A single shoe mold can now produce around 200,000 pairs of shoes. Thanks to these technological advances, the company, founded just six months ago, has already received orders from nearly 100 footwear companies.

A technician monitors 3D printing equipment at Fujian Xiaomuwang Mold Manufacturing Co., Ltd. at the Hanjiang Mold Industrial Park in Putian, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Lin Ying)

Local authorities report that Putian's mold market is worth tens of billions of yuan (1 yuan is about $0.15) but has long relied on outside suppliers. Meanwhile, Putian-born mold entrepreneurs operating elsewhere have built companies with a combined annual output exceeding 100 billion yuan and employing more than 100,000 people, mainly in manufacturing hubs such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

As part of a new push to strengthen local industry, Putian has been attracting these entrepreneurs back home by establishing dedicated mold industrial parks — Xiaomuwang is one result of that effort. The company plans to scale up to 100 machines and apply digital and intelligent technologies to help upgrade Putian's footwear and apparel industry.