Walking out of Danyang Railway Station that is just 25 minutes by high-speed train out of Nanjing, in Zhenjiang of our very own Jiangsu, the sign reading “China Danyang Glasses City” across the street is particularly eye-catching.
走出南京出站高铁只需25分钟的丹阳火车站，在我们的江苏镇江，对面“中国丹阳眼镜城”的牌子格外醒目。
At the entrance to the optics market which is ground zero for the production of lenses for eyewear, a local resident surnamed Zhang proudly introduced, “We are the world’s glasses capital and Danyang Glasses City is also a national AAA tourist attraction”.
在眼镜镜片生产零地的眼镜市场门口，当地张姓居民自豪地介绍，“我们是世界眼镜之都，丹阳眼镜城也是国家AAA级旅游景区”。
Why did a city renown for spectacles become a national scenic spot? And just how did half the world’s lenses for spectacles come to be made here of all places?
一座以奇观闻名的城市为何成为国家级风景名胜区？世界上一半的眼镜镜片是如何在世界各地生产的呢？
All in, eyewear totalling some US$661 million was exported out of Danyang in 2022, stated the Danyang Commercial Chamber of Eyewear to the Global Times. In a time rife with COVID, it represented a staggeringly impressive growth rate of 18.61 percent on 2021.
丹阳眼镜商会向《环球时报》表示，2022年，丹阳眼镜出口总额约6.61亿美元。在新冠疫情肆虐的时期，2021 年的增长率达到了惊人的 18.61%。
Danyang today boasts more than 1,600 glasses-related companies and over 50,000 eyewear practitioners. It’s made the City a top draw for people from far and wide to buy glasses for their whole family and friends.
目前丹阳拥有眼镜相关企业1600多家，眼镜从业人员5万多人。这使得这座城市成为世界各地人们为全家人和朋友购买眼镜的首选之地。
Coming in from Yangzhou especially for this purpose, a Mr. Zhang bought 9 pairs of glasses in one go. With the exception of a pair of sunglasses requiring customisation, the remainder for his family and friends were all packed and taken away on the spot.
专程从扬州赶来的张先生一口气购买了9副眼镜。除了一副需要定制的太阳镜外，其余送给家人和朋友的都被当场打包带走。
“When they heard that I was coming to Danyang, they asked me to bring a pair of glasses”, Zhang told People’s Daily Online after he had just finished an eye test. “This place [Glasses City] is close to the train station; it is also convenient to go back and forth on weekends.”
“他们听说我要来丹阳，就让我带一副眼镜。”刚刚做完视力检查的张先生告诉人民网。 “这个地方【眼镜城】离火车站很近，周末来回也方便。”
It’s such eyewear tourism that has earned Danyang its status as a national scenic spot. The sheer size of the spectacle business has also brought Danyang the China Glasses Museum, the largest of its kind in the country; and a 400-square-metre movie screen that is the biggest in East China.
正是这样的眼镜旅游，使丹阳赢得了国家级风景名胜区的地位。眼镜行业的庞大规模也为丹阳带来了全国最大的眼镜博物馆；以及400平方米华东地区最大的电影银幕。
Then there are the associated business exhibitions, tourism-related shopping, food logistics and financial services; even a commercial pedestrian street. And the local slogan; “Wear Danyang glasses and see beautiful China”.
然后是相关的商业展览、旅游购物、食品物流和金融服务；甚至是商业步行街。还有当地的口号； “戴上丹阳眼镜，看美丽中国”。
As for this city with a population of less than one million becoming the world’s largest lens production base and Asia’s largest distribution centre for eyewear, that’s down to it forming a full industrial chain integrating design, R&D and production.
这座人口不足百万的城市，能成为全球最大的镜片生产基地和亚洲最大的眼镜集散地，得益于它形成了集设计、研发、生产于一体的全产业链。
Going back 10-20 years, when consumers went shopping for glasses, they would invariably first be offered expensive lenses from Germany or Japan which were undeniably superior. Only bargain hunters would settle for Chinese made.
回溯10-20年前，当消费者购买眼镜时，他们首先都会看到来自德国或日本的昂贵镜片，这些镜片无疑是更优质的。只有讨价还价的人才会满足于中国制造。
Today however, Danyang lenses are gaining more favour from consumers, while the City’s glasses manufacturing has also shifted from traditional, but inefficient small workshops, toward being more brand-driven and technology led, embracing research and development.
如今，丹阳镜片越来越受到消费者的青睐，丹阳眼镜制造也从传统低效的小作坊转向品牌驱动、科技引领、研发驱动。
“In the past, the domestic-glasses industry was mainly based on OEM and low-price competition, and the independent property rights of lens processing equipment were basically a blank page”, said Wang Xueping, vice president of Mingyue Lenses.
“过去，国内眼镜行业主要以贴牌生产和低价竞争为主，镜片加工设备的自主产权基本是一张白纸。”明月镜片副总裁王学平表示。
But now, in terms of raw materials, R&D and industrialisation, China’s glasses industry has gradually caught up with international standards. This has been achieved in Danyang by perfecting the complex processes required for lens production, especially the final stage that is the coating for the lenses, something which previously needed expensive foreign equipment.
但现在，中国眼镜行业在原材料、研发、产业化等方面已逐步追赶国际水平。丹阳通过完善镜片生产所需的复杂工艺，特别是镜片镀膜的最后阶段，实现了这一目标，而这在以前需要昂贵的外国设备。
It’s these continuous improvements to product competitiveness in technological innovation, brand building and marketing innovation that has led to Danyang now laying claim to over 1,000 retail outlets for eyewear, each of them constantly polishing Danyang glasses, the city’s business card.
正是在技术创新、品牌建设、营销创新等方面不断提升产品竞争力，丹阳目前拥有1000多家眼镜零售网点，每一家都在不断擦亮丹阳眼镜这张城市名片。
