Fresh perspective

Meng Jie, a 38-year-old entrepreneur, is another example of Yunhe's innovative spirit. Unlike Ma, she aims to expand the wooden toy market beyond the infant to 6-year-old age group by targeting the people age 18 to 39.

"The 18-39 market is hard to cater to, but lucrative. The products must align with the mainstream aesthetic tastes of first-tier cities," said Meng, general manager of Yun Chuangxiang Co.

Meng first connected with Yunhe during an internship while studying toy and game design at Guangdong University of Finance and Economics. After graduating, she worked in various toy-related jobs in Guangdong province and Beijing. Her passion for wooden toys never waned, prompting her to return to Yunhe to start her own business in 2020.

"In late 2023, we started making wooden cultural and creative toys in Yunhe, after noticing a gap in the local wooden toy souvenir market. Distinctive cultural and creative design involves extracting unique local cultural elements and integrating them into the products, allowing them to tell a story," she said.

Guided by this vision, Meng designed Yunhe's rabbit mascot, Yun Maomao. "The name 'Mao' comes from the mortise and tenon structure (a joint connecting pieces of wood) of traditional Chinese wooden toys, called sunmao. 'Mao' in Chinese culture also represents the period from 5 to 7 am, the most vibrant time of day. In the Chinese zodiac, 'Mao' is associated with the tiger and the rabbit. We chose the rabbit because it better matches Yunhe's inclusive cultural character," Meng explained.

In 2023, Yunhe Agricultural and Tourism Investment Co contacted Meng to co-found a cultural and creative product company.

"Our design team has over 10 members, mostly born after 1995 in Yunhe. There aren't many wooden toy factories in Yunhe focused on creative development, making it hard for local youths to find jobs. So, forming this design team is very meaningful. In 2024, our company achieved revenue of 11 million yuan and developed over 300 cultural and creative products, each incorporating unique cultural elements."

In late November, Meng began using e-commerce livestreaming to sell her products. "Within two months, my Douyin livestreaming room gained nearly 20,000 followers," Meng said.

This showed her the potential of the wooden toy industry, which made her choose to bring her family to Yunhe during the Spring Festival holiday to continue livestreaming on schedule.

The influx of new-generation entrepreneurs is bringing fresh vitality and innovation to this traditional trade.

"By fostering new business models like e-commerce and health-related wooden toys, we are ensuring that Yunhe's wooden toy industry remains vibrant and competitive," said Mao, from the local council for the promotion of international trade.