JINAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- In early May, a textile company's workshop in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, was bustling with activity as workers hurried to finalize a significant order of national flags in preparation for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In one corner, dozens of cardboard boxes were stacked neatly, with the destinations printed on them: the United States, Canada and Mexico, the three co-hosts of this year's tournament.
"Orders came flooding in like a tidal wave, as soon as the 48-team lineup for this year's World Cup was announced," said Xiao Chang'ai, chairman of Qingdao Wonderful Flag Industry Co., Ltd. She explained that this rush order of over 400,000 national flags will soon be shipped by sea to the aforementioned three countries, arriving just in time to appear in World Cup stadiums from June to July.
As early as last August, during the qualifying matches, Wonderful Flag had already begun rushing production of various types of flags for this year's World Cup. Currently, the company has produced nearly 10 million flags with a variety of styles for the tournament, including national flags, bunting and hand flags in various sizes. These early batches have already been shipped by sea to the United States, Canada and beyond.
"By the end of March, the bulk of the flag orders had already been shipped, but the real challenge will come when the tournament kicks off in June," said Xiao, adding that as the competition progresses, businesses will closely follow the matches and place orders on short notice, often requiring delivery within 24 to 72 hours.
In response, the company implemented a 24-hour shift production system, with all management personnel working on the workshop floor and full coordination between logistics and customs clearance.
A small flag in every detail reflects the standards of "Made in China." International sporting events impose extremely stringent requirements on flag quality -- the fabric must possess multiple properties, including wind resistance, UV resistance, rain durability and flame retardancy. To meet these standards, Wonderful Flag has invested tens of millions of yuan in cumulative R&D to develop specialized fabrics and environmentally friendly dyes.
Xiao took down a flag from a sample rack that had been made eight years earlier. Its colors still as vivid as ever. At a flame-retardant test site, she grabbed a piece of fabric destined for the stadiums and lit it with a lighter. The material only curled slightly, did not sustain a flame, and extinguished itself once the heat source was removed.
"Flame retardancy, water resistance and anti-corrosion -- these are all standard features of our products," Xiao said. The company has now obtained over 40 international patents, forming a full-chain independent intellectual property system from fabric R&D to production processes.
In the 1990s, Wonderful Flag was still a small company. For the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, the company purchased official color swatches and sample flags from FIFA, meticulously matched colors and produced samples one by one, resulting in a trial order due to its excellent quality.
From the 2002 to the 2022 World Cup, Wonderful Flag served as a flag supplier for multiple consecutive editions of the tournament. Today, one out of every three event flags worldwide comes from the company.
To meet the needs of customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico for this tournament, Wonderful Flag has set up multiple forward warehouses overseas, where it pre-positions inventory based on its projections of how the event will unfold. Goods are shipped via the Qingdao Port and can reach customers in as little as two days.
"Customers just need to tell us how many flags they want and where to send them. We take care of the rest, including logistics, customs clearance and last-mile delivery," Xiao said. This "turnkey" approach to cross-border service is precisely what sets Wonderful Flag apart from ordinary contract manufacturers.
After nearly 30 years of effort, Wonderful Flag has secured contracts with several well-known national leagues, with stadium flags accounting for half of its business. "Whenever I see our flags flying in stadiums on TV, I feel that this small flag is a microcosm of Chinese manufacturing reaching out to the world," Xiao said. Enditem
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