Crowds explore exhibits at the China Haining International Fashion Boutique Socks Purchasing Fair. [Photo/WeChat account: hainingfabu]

The fifth China Haining International Fashion Boutique Socks Purchasing Fair, which lasted for three days, opened on March 5 at the Haining Convention and Exhibition Center.

The trade fair utilized an area of 11,000 square meters, with participation from 135 socks, socks equipment, and socks materials enterprises hailing from various locations.

"This is the trade fair with the most participants and the most exhibitors," stated Zhuang Shusong, president of the Haining Socks Industry Association. He added that more than 11,000 professional buyers came to purchase at the fair.

The Haining Socks Fair has become one of the premier large-scale professional socks exhibitions in the country, with more and more enterprises choosing to present and find customers. Notably, at this year's trade fair, in addition to conventional buyers, new retail buyers in fields such as personalized brand customization, fashion, and online retail also attended in force.

The exhibition also drew college students from relevant majors, seeking to glean insights from the sock industry. "As an electronic information engineering student, and because sock production involves mechanical equipment, I decided to attend the event to broaden my knowledge," explained Shi Haowen, a junior from Zhuji.

Haining's socks industry has a history of more than 100 years and achieved a total industrial output value of 3.47 billion yuan ($482.75 million) last year. In the future, Haining will continue to improve the level of intelligence and overall quality in production, establishing socks as a shining star of Haining's fashion industry.