Secrets of a traditional Chinese scissor firm's success
China is well-known for mass-produced products, but some traditional items are still lovingly handcrafted in the country's factories and workshops.
In the dying years of the Ming Dynasty, a craftsman by the name of Zhang Jiasi found a way to make scissors that were both beautiful and durable.
A few decades later Zhang Jiasi's son, Zhang Xiaoquan, inherited the business and moved it to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and in 1663 his namesake company was born.
Ding Chenghong is the Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan Company's current general manager and he spoke to the BBC's John Sudworth to explain the secrets of the firm's successes.
21 Apr 2013
- From the section Business