How can a single strand of hair cross mountains and seas, linking the industries and dreams of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with the shores of the Atlantic Ocean? The young team behind "Golden Silk Cloud Bridge" has used wigs to weave an international network of industry collaboration and cultural resonance along the Belt and Road.

 

 

Rooted in the hair product manufacturing hub of Xuchang, the team independently developed biomimetic fiber technology based on yak hair, successfully breaking the monopoly long held by foreign producers. From the efficient domestic integration of "resources, R&D, and manufacturing" to deep cooperation with over ten countries along the Belt and Road, Golden Silk Cloud Bridge has, through its global expansion and cross-border collaboration, transformed strands of hair into a bridge that conveys Chinese standards and fosters cross-cultural recognition. Empowered by youthful innovation, the team is driving international cooperation and allowing Chinese quality to shine on the world stage.

The project leader, Zhang Wenyu, grew up in a family that has been in the wig business for generations in Xuchang. His maternal grandfather once led the entire village in forging a path to prosperity, and his father continued the legacy by exporting OEM wigs to European and American markets. Behind this family heritage, however, lies a profound question for the industry: six out of every ten wigs in the world originate from Xuchang, so why has high-end protein fiber long depended on imports from Japan, with an annual supply of less than 300 tons?

 

 

Carrying this question with him, Zhang Wenyu formed an interdisciplinary team at Zhejiang Gongshang University and turned their attention to the pastoral areas of Qinghai. After 47 formula adjustments, the team developed a deep eutectic solvent extraction technology that transforms discarded yak hair into high-quality keratin fiber, achieving a keratin extraction rate of 62.4%. This means the purchasing cost of one ton of human hair can correspond to 85 tons of yak hair raw material. Waste from Qinghai herders has become a new source of income, and the bottleneck problem of raw materials for Xuchang factories now has a novel solution—a profound handshake between the resources of western China and the intelligent manufacturing of the east within the industrial chain.

From the pastoral areas of Qinghai to the factories of Xuchang, and from Lagos to the United Arab Emirates, the products now cover over ten Belt and Road countries, reaching more than 500,000 consumers. The initiative has directly created 15 jobs and indirectly driven employment for over 2,000 people in upstream and downstream sectors. When a strand of yak hair from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is empowered by laboratories in the east, manufactured in the industrial belt of the central region, and finally reaches the hands of an African consumer, it is no longer just a business transaction. It is a vivid expression of China's quality standards and the innovative power of its youth.