Grasse, a small city in the southeast of France, is often dubbed "the world's capital of perfume".

In Daixi town, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, a cosmetics industrial zone has been established by emulating the model of Grasse and has attracted numerous cosmetics companies from South Korea, France, Italy, Britain, and Bulgaria.

Before 2000, Daixi town, located in a mountainous region, was economically backward. In July 2006, Proya, a Hangzhou-based Chinese cosmetics brand, established a manufacturing base there, which started mass production in April 2009.

Hou Jun, chairman of Proya, attributed his decision to set up a factory in Daixi to the town's geographic location and pleasant environment.

The town's cosmetics industrial zone is currently home to 190 companies, including Hanbul from South Korea, Royal Apothic from Britain, and TechnicoFlor from France, which account for 68 percent of the town's tax revenue.

An aerial view of a cosmetics-themed museum in Daixi town, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province [Photo/zjol.com.cn]