Research and Other Investigations from China

Giant Piles of Cotton: Xinjiang’s Lucrative Industry

Mar 17, 2011 | Development, Society

Factory workers stand atop a huge pile of cotton at a processing plant in Xinjiang.

During a trip to Xinjiang last year, I was lucky enough to visit an industrial cotton farm and the attached processing plants. Xinjiang is the largest cotton-producing province in China, and China is the largest cotton-producing country on the planet. Needless to say the sheer amount of cotton being moved through these processing plants blew me away. Workers incessantly tossed and shifted around giant piles of cotton the size of houses before it all got sucked up into seed-removing machines that lined the corridors of the processing plants. Even the seeds removed from the cotton would form mountainous heaps, spirited away by specially designed conveyer belts outside the processing plants. Last year was also a tumultuous time for the cotton industry in general. Prices for cotton rose almost 80% after flooding in Pakistan and inclement weather in China and India ruined many crops. Now various clothing companies are switching to synthetic blends to keep costs down. The processing plants in Xinjiang might be working overtime, but it probably won’t help the already outrageous prices people pay for jeans these days.

Intricate conveyer belt systems deposit cotton seeds around a cotton processing plant in Xinjiang.

A factory worker moves around large piles of cotton outside the processing plant in Xinjiang.A cotton picker inspects plants in a giant field in Xinjiang.Factory workers move cotton into a chute that sucks it into a processing plant.

Factory workers move cotton off the bed of a truck at a cotton processing plant in Xinjiang.A factory worker inspects cotton seeds at a cotton processing plant in Xinjiang.A cotton farmer pulls up to a cotton processing plant in Xinjiang.

Seed-removing machines line a cotton processing plant in Xinjiang.A factory worker lables cotton bales at a cotton processing plant in Xinjiang.Machinery in a cotton processing plant snakes around the room.

China Name Brand Innovation for the Washington Post

May 24, 2010 | Clippings

Washington Post clipping from "Lack of innovation is costing China money, prestige"

I got prime access to a Lenovo manufacturing factory for a Washington Post article on China’s efforts to create name-brand innovation and recognition globally. Although not as big as other assembly centers in Shanghai and Shenzhen, it still pumped out thousands of desktop computers on a daily basis.

Lenovo mottos adorn the walls of the factory in BeijingVisitors are given an introduction to Lenovo's history before the factory tour

The Lenovo plant in Beijing sports a massive automated storage facilityTeams of assemblers work around the clock at the Lenovo factory in Beijing