The Old Town Monkey Brand Felt Hat

The Old Town Monkey Brand Felt Hat

　　The Old Town Monkey Brand Felt Hat

　　The felt hat industry was one of the larger industries in Xuanhua before liberation. A local saying...

　　goes: "Xuanhua’s three treasures are grapes, felt hats, and big fur coats." The felt hat industry held a certain position in the Chinese market, and the Monkey Brand felt hats enjoyed high reputation. Before liberation, there were over 30 large private workshops in Xuanhua, all producing felt hats under the unified Monkey Brand trademark, with an annual output of 300,000 to 500,000 hats. These hats were mainly sold in Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and the three northeastern provinces. Trading warehouses in Beijing’s Jinmao Hutong, Tianjin’s Guyi Street, and Beida Guan once acted as sales and distribution agents for the Xuanhua felt hat industry, and the Xuanhua Double Monkey Brand felt hats could often be seen on the markets in Beijing and Tianjin. At that time, the Xuanhua Double Monkey Brand felt hats had become a nationally best-selling branded product.

　　After liberation, the Xuanhua felt hat industry saw new development thanks to government support. In 1951, the number of workshops grew from over 30 to 68, employing about 2,000 people, with an annual production of over 600,000 hats. An industry-wide joint purchasing and marketing organization was formed, and products were purchased and sold uniformly by Xuanhua Native Produce Company. The situation was favorable, and production developed rapidly. The Xuanhua felt hats gained a high reputation across the country mainly due to their commitment to quality and fair pricing. Their advantages included a solid, fine, durable, and elastic felt surface, vibrant and even coloring, resistance to fraying even with prolonged use, and portability. Later, due to the lack of structural improvement in the hats, limited product variety, and failure to adapt to the continuously rising living standards of the people, market sales sharply declined. By the eve of the public-private partnership in 1955, the number of workshops had dwindled from over 60 to just 18, with employment falling to around 400 people and annual production reduced to about 200,000 hats. In 1956, the felt hat and fur industries were merged into a public-private partnership, forming the Xuanhua Fur Factory. Production gradually transitioned from manual to semi-mechanized methods, and production expanded to include ethnic minority felt hats, Tibetan felt hats, and industrial-use felt. After 1958, the Xuanhua Fur Factory primarily focused on producing industrial-use felt, and the production of felt hats decreased year by year. By 1966, production was completely halted.