Customers are seen in a store selling outdoor jackets in Sanmen county, Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

Sanmen county in Taizhou is a national production hub for outdoor jackets.

The county produces over 20 million outdoor jackets annually - 60 percent of the nation's total, worth a combined value of more than 5 billion yuan ($769.2 million).

It is currently home to more than 300 outdoor jacket manufacturers employing over 20,000 people.

Among them is Zhejiang Lantu Outdoor Products Co Ltd, a supplier of volunteer clothing for the upcoming 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Its production capacity rose by 500,000 units in 2021, up 50 percent year-on-year.

Lantu's rapid development epitomizes the sustained growth of the outdoor jacket industry in Sanmen.

A research institute has been set up by local authorities in partnership with Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, focusing on design, brand promotion, technological innovation and talent exchange in the outdoor jacket industry. 

The industry will also benefit from the policy recently announced by Zhejiang to encourage universities to grant 26 mountainous counties in the province the right to use a group of patents for free.

For example, the color extraction technology patent held by Zhejiang Sci-Tech University can be used by enterprises including Lantu for free for a period of one year.