A line of children wait their turn to model clothes for commercials. Photo: Sina
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https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3004639/how-chinas-child-modelling-boom-turned-small-town-magnet People & Culture
How China’s child modelling boom turned small town into magnet for ambitious parents
- Families are relocating to Zhili, where the growing child garment industry means models can earn up to US$1,500 a day
- Young children work long hours and miss schooling in attempt to win big contracts as companies clamour for star quality
The catwalks of Zhili can be a road to riches for the children who prove a hit there. Photo: the paper.cn
Thousands of children across mainland China are being taken by their parents to a small town in the country’s east to try to clinch modelling contracts.
A booming child garment industry in Zhili town, in Huzhou in Zhejiang province, provides plenty of opportunities for child models, attracting parents who take their children there to attend model training and try to pick up modelling work for commercials, news portal Sina.com reports.
Child models earn 80 to 150 yuan (about US$12-22) for a shoot involving one outfit, or up to about 10,000 yuan (US$1,500) a day for modelling more than 100 outfits.
The most popular models reportedly earn 1 million yuan a year, while even moderately successful ones have incomes of hundreds of thousands of yuan, according to the report.
There are roughly 10,000 child garment manufacturers in Zhili, where the population is normally about 100,000. Thanks to the child model sector, that swells to 350,000 around peak times such as the annual shopping initiative Singles’ Day, or Double 11, in November.
“We moved here since the child garment industry is advanced in Zhili,” one mother surnamed Bao told Sina.com. She moved seven years ago from the eastern Shandong province with her daughter Gu Ge, now 11.
“On many occasions, Gu Ge did her homework in downtime while changing clothes or having make-up,” Bao said. “After class, she would look for her teachers to help her learn subjects she missed while at modelling events.
“My daughter’s personality is that she likes showing herself off. I think she enjoys being a child model.”
Gu Ge catches up on homework in the moments between shoot. Photo: the paper.cn
Gu Ge said her dream was to be an actress in future, the website reported.
But the work and training are not easy. Bao said Gu Ge’s first modelling job in Zhili was an exacting one, lasting from 10 in the morning to 8 in the evening.
“Basic skill exercises are tedious and laborious,” Xi Shenghao, a former professional model who teaches at a child modelling school in Zhili, was quoted as saying. “Often children are crying while attending training.”
Shen Rongfeng, a supervisor at Huzhou Mingbang Clothes Company, told Zhejiang Daily the demand for child models had grown with the explosion of e-commerce.
A young model tries to grab a bite to eat when he can. Photo: thepaper.cn
“Once a dress worn by a child model has become a hit online, other companies will scramble to invite the model to shoot for them,” Shen said. “Prices for models are driven by this ‘star effect’.”
The fierce competition means some must miss out, with many children not receiving a single order in a month, the parents of six-year-old Sheng Zhe, who has been a model for two years, told Sina.com.
They had given up their seafood business in northeast China and rented a house in Zhili at the beginning of this year to try to find modelling work for the boy.
Some parents pushing their children into modelling are motivated not only by their potential earnings but also by a wish to help them become more outgoing and confident.
Wang Lili said she forced her nine-year-old daughter Xu Ziqing to try modelling four years ago because she thought she was too timid.
“Now she is confident and likes doing catwalk,” Wang told Zhejiang Daily. “Her income is never what I consider. I care about what she has learned and experienced.”