A decades-old printing industry in Wenzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, is undergoing a quiet but striking transformation and bringing new opportunities for the local cultural economy.

Once known mainly as the "Printing City of China", Longgang, a county-level city in Wenzhou is now leveraging its mature supply chain to expand into the fast-growing fields of trendy toys and digital cultural creation.

"The equipment you see behind me was originally used to make packaging and accessories for alcoholic beverages. Now, we've smoothly transitioned to using it to produce accessories for trendy toys," said Zhou Miaomiao, manager of a local arts and crafts company.

Driven by "China chic" culture and rising emotional consumption across the country, young buyers are increasingly paying for design, storytelling and collectible value, not just functionality. That change is reconnecting traditional manufacturing strengths of Longgng with the new cultural economy.

A leading trendy toy brand founded by a Longgang entrepreneur illustrates the model.

"For my next order, I could deliver it in about seven days if I produce it in Longgang. Usually, it would take around a month in our previous base in the Pearl River Delta area. I can also save around 40 to 50 percent on production costs here," said Chen Minqu, chairman of Zhejiang Qijing Magic Cube Animation Company.

Headquartered in Zhejiang's Hangzhou, Chen's company operates stores in major shopping districts across China.

His decision to build a production base back in Longgang is driven by the city's supply-chain strengths of design, printing, laminating, die-cutting and packaging, which greatly shortens the distance between creativity and manufacturing.

The return of flagship brands is also pushing local printing and packaging firms to upgrade.

Instead of remaining pure processors for others, many are developing their own cultural and creative brands, moving up the value chain from manufacturing to IP-driven product design.

Local authorities have also backed the transition with targeted policies. Today, more than 1,000 cultural and creative companies operate in Longgang. In the first half of this year alone, the sector generated 2.4 billion yuan in output, showing how an old industrial town is turning printing precision into cultural appeal.