As the new school semester begins across China, many students find relief from the back-to-school stress in shopping for fresh stationery. Chances are, most of those pens, notebooks, and pencil cases trace back to Ninghai county in Ningbo city, east China's Zhejiang Province, a powerhouse in China's stationery industry.

By April 2025, Ninghai had 772 stationery manufacturers. They generated 34.55 billion yuan (about $4.84 billion) in sales in 2024, accounting for around 20.2 percent of China's total stationery industry. The county's stationery products are exported to over 100 countries and regions.

The story of Ninghai stationery began in the late 1980s. After more than 30 years of growth, the once humble cluster of small workshops has transformed into an industry powerhouse, earning titles like "China's stationery industry base."

Today, Ninghai is home to a lineup of industry leaders: long-tail binder clips with 1 billion yuan in annual sales and the world's highest production volume, pencil sharpeners and staplers with over 60 percent of the global market, and sharpeners holding a 75 percent share of China's domestic market.

People shop for stationery items integrating popular cultural elements at a stationery festival held by Deli Group, a stationery manufacturer in China, in Ninghai county, Ningbo city, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Ninghai County Committee)

Deli Group is a stationery manufacturer in Ninghai. Starting out in office stationery, it has expanded into office equipment, children's educational tools and more.

Stationery manufacturers in Ninghai found success by pairing popular products with strong storytelling, turning stationery from a mere tool into a cultural experience.

Photo shows stationery products by Ningbo Uhoo Office Stationery Co., Ltd. in Ninghai county, Ningbo city, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Ninghai County Committee)

In the showroom of Ningbo Uhoo Office Stationery Co., Ltd., a collection of stationery featuring traditional Chinese cultural elements immediately catches the eye. Jiang Xinlian, general manager of the company, said these products are especially popular overseas.

As the drafter of China's national ID card holder standard, Uhoo has leveraged the Belt and Road Initiative to sell its culturally inspired products in the U.S., Europe, and Brazil.

Today, 30 percent of stationery products made in Ninghai are sold in China and 70 percent are sold overseas.

This global presence is backed by China's manufacturing strength and nimble market strategies. Deli Group has built more than 10 regional headquarters and over 50 overseas branches, securing leading positions in markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).