Pingdu, a county-level city administered by Qingdao in East China's Shandong province, holds a key to wealth—false eyelashes. The false eyelash industry took root here in the 1970s and, after decades of growth, has become a major pillar of the local economy. Today, Pingdu exports around 120 million pairs of false eyelashes annually, accounting for roughly 70 percent of global production.

At a false eyelash factory in Pingdu, worker Wang Zhenjuan precisely embeds mink hairs—fine as thread—into mold grooves. Nearby, co-worker Yu Guangmin carefully places lashes into trays, completing the final step before quality inspection.

"Now that I've mastered the technique, I can package about 2,500 pairs a day and earn over 6,000 yuan (about $834.59) a month," said Yu, who's been in the trade for 10 years.

Over the past five years, Pingdu's false eyelash industry has expanded rapidly. The city now has more than 5,000 businesses involved in the sector, producing over 3,000 different styles and types of finished false eyelashes. More than 60,000 people are employed in the industry.

At the workshop of the city's Qingdao Boxiu False Eyelash Crafts Co., Ltd., a technician taps a touchscreen and robotic arms spring into action, performing tasks with precision along an automated assembly line.

"This machine handles 12 steps on its own without needing supervision," said Wang Haibo, general manager of the company. "We've moved from a family workshop to standardized factory production. Production efficiency has increased five- to six-fold, and profits are up 20 percent," Wang said.

Wang, who inherited the business from his father, sees innovation as key. "Now it's all about product quality and building a strong brand image that caters to different consumer preferences around the world." The biodegradable false eyelashes developed by his team are now a hit in European and U.S. markets.

Qiao Ning, head of Pingdu's bureau of industry and information technology, said that by building, strengthening, supplementing, and extending the industrial chain, the city is boosting the false eyelash industry's capacity for resource integration, technological innovation, and operational efficiency. The annual output value of the industry has reached 10 billion yuan.