By Thomas Burrows for MailOnline
The hair is boxed up before it is disinfected, dyed and dried and is then sold across the globe
According to the World Trade Organisation’s International Trade Centre, China exported nearly 75 per cent of the world’s ‘bird skin, feathers and human hair’ products in 2012
Sales of human hair in China are booming and being sold across the world
- Taihe, in the eastern province of Anhui, is home to more than 400 companies processing hair into a variety of styles
- The trade was pioneered in the 1970s, but is now being sold internationally
- China exports nearly 75 per cent of the world’s ‘bird skin, feathers and human hair’
- Retailer: ‘Because the value of hair is so high, people call it black gold’
It is best-known for its oriental rugs, herbal teas and ancient medicines.
But now, a more unusual product is starting to become China’s must-have item.
Exports of human hair have rocketed in popularity and it is now being sold in countries all over the world.
Taihe, in the eastern province of Anhui, is home to more than 400 companies processing human hair into a variety of styles, including curly extensions, wigs and Afros which end up on heads in the United States, Europe and Africa.
It is one of many ‘industrial clusters’ – areas that specialise on a single product – that have emerged in recent decades as a result of the booming Chinese economy.
Fu Quanguo, 64, pioneered the trade in the 1970s.
He said: ‘We used to collect the human hair locally, but now it comes from all kinds of countries, like Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Vietnam.
‘In the past making hair products was tough, and we did it all by hand. Now we’ve gone from small to big and are selling internationally.’
In the workplaces, the hair is first disinfected in two huge barrels, before workers use paddles to stir clumps of strands in steaming water.
It is dyed in colours from white to black and is then dried in ovens, brushed and sewn into hair extensions.
Prices can go for as much as 5,400 yuan – £525 – for cuts of 20 inches.
Mr Quanguo’s son, Fu Qianwei, 36, has a company with the English name Anna and export sales of £4.7 million a year, mostly to the United States. He employs more than 200 full-time staff.
He said: ‘Each country has different demands on length, thickness and quality.
‘As Africa’s economy grows, the market is growing and moving towards higher quality.
‘Because the value of hair is so high, people call it black gold.’
The export of hair is especially common in the east of China and the hair markers, ramshackle workshops and factories around the cornfields of Taihe generated £52 million of exports in 2012 – nearly half the county’s total.
Vendors in Taihe have helped make China the world’s biggest exporter of hair
The hair is dyed in colours from white to black and is then dried in ovens, brushed and sewn into extensions
Taihe, in the eastern province of Anhui, specialises in the sale of hair and is big business for the region
Exports of human hair have boomed in popularity and is mainly produced in Taihe, in the eastern province of Anhui that is home to more than 400 companies
In the workplaces, the hair is first disinfected in two huge barrels, before workers use paddles to stir clumps of strands in steaming water. It is dyed in colours from white to black and is then dried in ovens, brushed and sewn into hair extensions
Vendors in Taihe, in the east of China, display their selection of hair at a street market. The county made £52 million from exports in 2012 – nearly half of its total
China is the world’s biggest exporter of hair and according to the World Trade Organisation’s International Trade Centre, exported nearly 75 per cent of the world’s ‘bird skin, feathers and human hair’ products in 2012
Workers process human hair into a variety of styles, including curly extensions, wigs and Afros which end up on heads in countries across the world
Customers have to haggle with street vendors over the price of the hair
In the workplaces, the hair is disinfected in two huge barrels, before workers use paddles to stir clumps of strands in steaming water. It is dyed in colours and then dried in ovens and sewn into hair extensions
Fu Qianwei, who runs the company Anna, said: ‘Because the value of hair is so high, people call it black gold’
The export of hair is especially common in the east of China and here workers at a factory in Taihe produce the hair for sale across the world
A worker feeds hair through a sewing machine during the production phase before it is sold
How to sell Hair Extensions 
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