Small City, Big Business—Guzhen Lighting industry

Posted on March 12, 2025

Today, we introduce Guzhen, a town under Zhongshan City in Guangdong Province, renowned as the “Lighting Capital of China.” With a permanent population of approximately 225,000, Guzhen has developed into a significant hub for the lighting industry, accounting for 70% of China’s domestic lighting market and exporting products to over 130 countries and regions, capturing 50% of the global market share.

The origins of the Guzhen lighting industry can be traced back to the 1980s. Geographically, the ancient town is close to Hong Kong, which also gives it a natural information advantage. Local villagers located near Hong Kong began to produce their first homemade lighting products based on samples brought back from Hong Kong. In 1995, the local government identified the lighting industry as an important pillar of the town’s economic development, triggering a surge in the lighting business. What started as basic parts assembly and workshop machining has now grown into a large production center.

On October 15, 1999, a critical moment in the industrial development of Guzhen, the town held the first international event – China (Guzhen) International Lighting Expo. At that time, the conditions were average and the transportation was not convenient, but people did their best to make the event a big and eye-catching one. Along the “Illumination Street” (Xinxing Avenue), even the trees on the side of the road are hung with many illuminations. This event successfully introduced the lighting products of the ancient town to the national audience. With tenacity, the people of Guzhen continue to struggle on the road of lamps. By 2002, the town had earned the title of “China’s Lighting Capital”, and the newly opened Guzhen Lighting Square became a trading and networking center for industry professionals. The fair has also changed from an annual exhibition to a biennial exhibition, and has introduced a showhall linkage model to connect the exhibition with local lighting stores.

In 2004, Guzhen’s lighting industry ushered in a landmark moment, with total output reaching 7.652 billion yuan, accounting for 75% of Guzhen’s GDP. This year, Guzhen’s lighting industry transformed from a traditional manufacturing industry into an important engine to support economic development, bringing a large number of local employment opportunities and economic growth. Along with the rapid development of the industry, Guzhen’s infrastructure also witnessed tremendous changes, especially the expansion of the transportation and tourism industries. in the early 2000s, the construction of a high-speed railway station and the rise of a series of luxury hotels made Guzhen not only an important production base for lighting products, but also gradually developed into a lighting-themed town with special characteristics.

The transformation and innovation of Guzhen is not limited to this, the local government began to create a “lighting theme city” with local characteristics, combining the lighting industry with cultural tourism. The “Lighting Street” and Lighting Plaza in Guzhen have become important places to attract tourists and industry buyers. With the expansion and maturity of the industry, the lighting industry in Guzhen also began to radiate to the neighboring Henglan Town, Xiaolan Town, Jiangmen, Foshan and other places, forming a huge lighting industry cluster with a total output value of more than 100 billion yuan. This industrial cluster, not only consolidated Guzhen as the “capital of lighting” position, but also at home and abroad in the lighting industry chain occupies an increasingly important role.

With the globalization of the economy, Guzhen’s lighting enterprises are focusing more and more on technological innovation and market diversification. In the past few years, the trend of intelligence and digitalization has become the mainstream of industry development. Many lighting companies have begun to invest in the research and development of more advanced intelligent lighting products, which are made smarter, more environmentally friendly, more energy-efficient and able to be customized according to different needs through artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies. For example, intelligent lighting systems can automatically adjust brightness according to people’s activity needs, and even link with home systems to enhance the living experience.

In addition, the integration of green lighting technology has become an important development direction for enterprises in Guzhen. Through the use of energy-saving and environmentally friendly LED technology, Guzhen’s lighting industry has not only improved the market competitiveness of its products, but also drastically reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions, responding to the global call for green development. In order to achieve this goal, local enterprises have launched extensive industry-university-research cooperation with renowned research institutes and universities at home and abroad, promoting the industry’s rapid progress in the field of green lighting and intelligentization. These collaborations have not only helped enterprises optimize their technological level, but also enhanced their R&D and innovation capabilities, further promoting the continued upgrading and development of the entire Guzhen lighting industry.

Through these transformations and innovations, Guzhen has not only consolidated its leading position in China’s lighting market, but has also gradually become an important hub for the global lighting industry. With the continuous innovation of technology and the deepening of the concept of environmental protection, Guzhen’s lighting industry has demonstrated a strong influence in the global arena.

In our next issue, we will spotlight Linyi, the “Capital of Wood Panels in China.” We look forward to sharing more insights into the remarkable industries of other cities!