Wenzhou, a small coastal town 300 miles southeast of Shanghai, is home to a booming export market of cheap goods such as lighters, sex toys, eyeglass frames and fake Gucci bags.
For years, the town has been known for its ambitious entrepreneurs. In 1979, the Chinese government granted Zhang Huamei a business license, making her Chinaâ??s first, post-Cultural Revolution government-approved entrepreneur. She quickly became rich by using cheap labor to manufacture buttons and is known in some circles as â??Capitalist Number One.â? Others followed her lead, quickly amassing their own fortunes.
Read Full Article »