Caoxian, a small county tucked away in east China's Shandong Province, rose to sudden fame earlier this year after short videos (repeatedly referring to the place) went viral on Douyin, China's equivalent of TikTok.

However, behind the internet fad, Caoxian is actually the country's largest manufacturing hub of performance costumes and Hanfu, traditional Chinese clothing that has made a strong comeback in China.

Caoxian-born writer, Wei Xin, revisited his hometown after many years of leaving there. He found that behind the internet fad, livestreaming e-commerce had reshaped the garment industry, and more local people, who chose to work in big cities, have come back and started businesses in their hometown.