In this episode of Sixth Tone’s podcast, reporter Wang Lianzhang and photojournalist Wu Yue tell us about the county that produces the majority of China’s lingerie.

Guanyun is a rural county in eastern China’s Jiangsu province that, by sheer entrepreneurial trial-and-error, became a lingerie production powerhouse. In December, the team traveled to the workshops that dot the farmland to meet the army of garment workers. How did the area’s most successful businessman discover the lucrative lingerie trade? Who are the rural women that sew the items while questioning why anyone would buy anything so skimpy? Why are local officials so happy to support an industry that they don’t truly understand?

Listen to our podcast to hear the stories behind the story, “Unzipping China’s Lingerie Capital.”

Episode 2 - Diving Into China's Underwear Drawers.

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Hosts: Qian Jinghua and Kevin Schoenmakers; guests: Wang Lianzhang and Wu Yue; producers: Zhang Ru and Doris Wang.

(Header image: A sample lingerie piece is displayed at a workshop in Guanyun County, Jiangsu province, Dec. 27, 2017. Wu Yue/Sixth Tone)