Japanese anime models made in the Guizhou province of China

July 6, 2022

BEIJING – Japanese anime has been popular around the world and in China for decades. Apart from bringing visual enjoyment, anime and related industries are providing job opportunities for people in Guizhou province.

In the production workshop of the Bijie Mingyue company in Guizhou, a company producing garage kits, the miniature models of Monkey Luffy from One Piece and detective Conan and Hanamichi Sakuragi from Slam Dunk can be seen vividly in the production line.

A subsidiary of the Dongguan-based Mingyue company with investment from Japan, it is the only factory that produces garage kit figures in Southwest China.

As part of the paired-assistance program between eastern and western China to alleviate poverty, Bijie Mingyue is a result of efforts aimed to improve the socioeconomic well-being of residents in Bijie.

The factory has 72 production lines. Since production began in 2021, total output has reached over 34 million yuan ($5.1 million), with products sold in Japan, Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia.

“It is like working in Dongguan but living at home, as the salaries here are as much as in Guangdong,” said Peng Qian, a staff member at Bijie Mingyue, which has recruited 900 local workers, providing free accommodation and meals.

In the future, more than half the production quota of the group will be achieved in Guizhou, said Wang Dongyang, general manager of Bijie Mingyue.

“Many local residents wanted to buy the models from us. Unfortunately, we are only responsible for production, and we have to order through the website ourselves,” said Wang, who is also a fan of anime.