Research On The Development And Spatial Distribution Of The Textile And Apparel Industry In Wuxi

With the deepening of international specialization of labor, textile and apparel industry, as the traditional advantageous industry playing an important role in the national economy, is taking active part in global competence and cooperation. Fast urbanization progress makes textile and apparel industry both fortunate and challengeable:on one hand, according to the comparative advantage theory, the primary factors, especially the labor in China, take the great advantage in domestic and foreign markets, but has difficulty in upgrading industries; on the other hand, limited central city space, high land rent, overcrowded transportation and lack of labor has made textile and apparel industry moving to suburbs, facing the adjustment of new spatial pattern.Wuxi, famous for its textile and apparel industry, is now facing the multiple pressures brought by increasing labor and environmental costs. According to the statics data of corporations related to textile and apparel industry in Wuxi, the paper analyzes the spatial distribution characteristics of textile and apparel industry in different stages of development and different categories of the corporations based on the circle layer analysis and GIS. Furthermore, exploring the formulation of textile and apparel industry and its evolutionary mechanism on the urban level, the paper resolves the spatial distribution trends of traditional manufacture, which provides some advice on coordinating urban spatial reconstruction and industrial spatial adjustment.During the spatial distribution process of textile and apparel industry in Wuxi, the paper finds out there are some characteristics as follows:first is about notable decentralization. The textile and apparel corporations are moving to the suburbs actively or passively with higher rent and require for better environment. Second is about distinct spatial agglomeration. Influenced by the economy of scale, textile and apparel industry in Wuxi is mainly clustered in three areas in different scales, which are northern Wuxi, Southwestern Wuxi and outer-ring of central Wuxi. Third is based on the industrial park. The government puts forward the policy encouraging textile and apparel industry moving to the industrial parks. To conclude, the paper discusses it is factors likepath dependence, industry transformation and upgrading,policy guides and environmental constraints makes the special spatial pattern of textile and apparel industry in Wuxi.