Why Nantong Is China's #1 Home-Textile City — and What It Means for Bedding Buyers

If you're sourcing wholesale bedding from China, almost every trail leads to one place: Nantong, in Jiangsu province, and its Dieshiqiao (叠石桥) home-textile market. Nantong is China's largest bedding and home-textile production and trading base — by government figures it supplies over half of China's home-textile market and exports to more than 130 countries. Buying factory-direct here means reaching the source behind a huge share of the world's bedding, at real source-factory prices. Here's why that matters for your orders.

China's #1 home-textile cluster, by the numbers

The Nantong home-textile belt is one of the most concentrated textile clusters on earth. The defensible, government-stated figures:

• Over 50% of China's home-textile (bedding) market is supplied from the Nantong / Dieshiqiao cluster.
• Exports reach 130+ countries and regions, backed by 31 overseas warehouses (2025).
• Annual industry turnover is reported at roughly RMB 250 billion (about US$34.6 billion).
• Reportedly over 1.2 billion bedding products are made here per year, with around 400,000 people employed in home textiles.

A common industry saying captures it: "世界家纺看中国，中国家纺看南通" — for home textiles, the world looks to China, and China looks to Nantong.

Officially recognized, not just marketing

The cluster carries formal titles from the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and the China Home Textile Association — including "Tongzhou · China Home Textile City" (2007) and "China Famous Town of Home-Textile Embroidery" for Sanxing (2002) — and is a designated National Textile Industrial Cluster, more recently developed as a world-class home-textile cluster pioneer zone. (Phrases like "the world's third home-textile center" are widely-cited industry positioning rather than an awarded title.)

A 130-year cotton heritage

Nantong's textile roots run deep. In 1895 the scholar-industrialist Zhang Jian (张謇) founded the Dasheng Cotton Mill, which began producing yarn in 1899 — one of China's first modern cotton enterprises, whose archives were added to UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Memory of the World Register in 2022. That century-plus of spinning, weaving and finishing know-how is the foundation today's bedding industry is built on.

The Dieshiqiao market — and source factory vs trader

At the center sits the China Dieshiqiao International Home Textiles market — roughly a million square meters of floor space and well over ten thousand shops, widely described as China's only "trillion-tier" specialized home-textile market. But not everyone there is a factory: trading companies and resellers operate alongside genuine mills. A source factory controls weaving, dyeing, QC and loading itself, so buying direct removes the re-trading markup and keeps quality and customization in your hands.

What it means for wholesale buyers

Concentration is an advantage. Because the whole supply chain sits in one belt, a Nantong source-factory supplier can offer a full range — cotton sets, cooling quilts, Lyocell, hotel linen — with consistent sizing, branding and quality, fast sampling and reliable reorders, from a low trial MOQ. You're not coordinating scattered factories; you're sourcing from the heart of the industry.

If the world's bedding has a hometown, it's Nantong. Sourcing from the Dieshiqiao belt means buying from the source — not a layer on top of it.

BeddingTextilePro is a Nantong B2B supplier of bedding sets, summer quilts and hotel linen on source-factory direct supply — locked, dedicated production lines at large-scale Nantong mills, goods shipping direct from the mill — with a 100-set minimum per color and size combination, full OEM/ODM customization and OEKO-TEX support. Request a wholesale quotation and our export team will reply within one business day.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Nantong considered China's number-one home-textile city?

Nantong and its Dieshiqiao market form China's largest bedding and home-textile production and trading base, supplying over half of China's home-textile market and exporting to 130+ countries. The cluster carries formal national titles from CNTAC and the China Home Textile Association and is built on a 130-year cotton heritage dating to the 1895 Dasheng Cotton Mill.

Is buying from Nantong cheaper than buying through a trading company?

Yes — a Nantong source factory controls weaving, dyeing, QC and loading itself, so buying direct removes the re-trading markup that a middleman adds. It also keeps quality and customization in your hands instead of a layer on top.

Can I get a full bedding range from one Nantong supplier?

Because the entire supply chain sits in one belt, a Nantong source-factory supplier can offer cotton sets, cooling quilts, Lyocell and hotel linen with consistent sizing, branding and quality. You source from the heart of the industry rather than coordinating scattered factories.

Is every supplier in the Dieshiqiao market a real factory?

No — the Dieshiqiao market spans roughly a million square meters and well over ten thousand shops, where trading companies and resellers operate alongside genuine mills. Verify that a supplier controls its own production before committing, so you reach the source and not a reseller.

Sources & references

1. 1.Nantong city and textile industry history (Wikipedia)
2. 2.Zhang Jian, founder of Dasheng Cotton Mill in Nantong 1895 (Wikipedia)
3. 3.Dasheng Cotton Mills records added to UNESCO Asia-Pacific Memory of the World Register (China Daily, government)
4. 4.China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) profile (UN Global Compact)