Vines are winding under the roof, and water is gurgling between artificial hills. Next to the rumbling automated production line, landscape lamps are flickering between tree trunks.

The factory of Zhejiang Baofang Printing and Dyeing Co., Ltd., which is located in Ma'an Street, Keqiao District, Shaoxing city, is like a "big garden".

Adhering to the concept of "clean production and green development", Baofang started to develop itself into a green factory in 2012, and invested 120 million yuan to introduce green high-end production lines.

"When the workshop is no longer polluted, hot and manpower-intensive, employees become more motivated," said Li Ruizong, the company's general secretary of the Communist Party, at the workshop equipped with air-conditioner.

Looking back on the transformation into green factory, Li ruizong is most impressed by the company's three-year tight budget, in order to transform the real batik production line on which it lives into a less polluting imitation batik production line.

Baofang only produces batik fabrics. Relying on more than 10 years of small profits and large sales, only five real batik production lines have been accumulated. But in 2012, with the launch of a reform plan of constructing a green factory, these wax-heavy production lines became the biggest obstacle.

Staff in the company have diversified opinions towards whether to change the production lines. Supporters of the change considered that the green and high-end development is the trend of printing and dyeing industry and the company should follow the trend. Others thought real batik production is the leading technology of the industry, so the company did not need to add pressure on itself. Besides, it was a pity to waste the two newly introduced production lines worth nearly tens of millions of yuan.

"Finally, the chairman made the decision - to save 150 million yuan and spend three years to complete the transformation. According to the agglomeration and upgrading project of printing and dyeing Industry in Keqiao District, 80% of printing and dyeing enterprises in the district will gather and upgrade in 2015, and the subsidy for enterprises' technical renovation will be increased to 15%," Mr. Li said. "The determination of the government has also reassured us."

"It turned out to be the right decision," Mr. Li said while walking on the stainless road and pointing to the workshop without any printing and dyeing sewage and pungent smell. "In the past, another pair of shoes was needed if you went to the workshop, in order to change your shoes when you went inside and outside, or your shoes would be too dirty to wear. Now you can walk around the factory in white shoes for one day and they will still be clean."

The data shows that through the technical transformation, the energy consumption of Baofang has been reduced by 50%, the benefit has been increased by 30%, and the product quality has been unanimously recognized by customers. Existing production capacity has doubled compared with 2012, and the company's output value reached 1.14 billion yuan in 2019.

In order to let all the employees share the results of green development, the company also invested tens of millions of yuan to upgrade and transform all workshops and living areas into garden-like places.

At present, Baofang’s factory is full of the color green. Some trees have borne fruit. In the staff dormitory area, facilities such as pavilion corridor bridge, supermarket, outdoor cinema, children's playground, basketball court, reading room are dotted in an orderly manner.

The most obvious change brought by the improvement of the environment is that the turnover rate of Baofang staff has decreased a lot. Now, the average age of more than 900 employees is only 40 years old, and more than 80% of them have worked for more than 5 years.

"When I first came to Baofang, I was amazed. It's nothing like the printing and dyeing workshop I’d thought of," said Zhu Hong, an employee born in the 1990s. After seeing the photos she had took, many of her friends said they wanted to work here, too.

The staff has been motivated, so the product quality will be guaranteed. In recent years, the rate of A-level product produced by Baofang has been maintaining at above 95% for a long time.

"Once we enter the workshop, the floor is spotless and all we can see is the color green, so we become relaxed, cheerful and full of energy," many employees said with a smile.

(Compiled by Xu Yuhong, translated by Zou Guan'er)