More than 20 workers were busy scanning, packing, and sealing parcels on Nov 11 at a warehouse in the Four Treasures of the Study Industrial Park in Shanlian town, Huzhou, Zhejiang province.

Automated sorting lines carried Huzhou writing brushes, painting supplies, and the Four Treasures of the Study sets — ink sticks, ink stones, writing brushes, and paper — with parcels bound for destinations as far away as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Manager Zhuang Guoqiang said the warehouse, which began operating in March, handled around 5,000 orders a day, with shipments peaking at 15,000, during the Singles' Day shopping festival, which is China's annual online shopping carnival. The busy period is expected to continue until mid-to-late November.

Previously, local Huzhou writing brush makers handled shipments individually and often struggled with labor shortages, rising delivery costs, and order errors during major shopping festivals. The warehouse now brings together orders from e-commerce supply chains and channels them through a standardized distribution system.

The product mix is also changing. The Four Treasures of the Study sets and painting supplies now account for a growing share of parcels, while standalone Huzhou writing brushes make up a smaller proportion.

Yao Yulin, an inheritor of the Huzhou brush-making craft, said online sales are only a starting point, and long-term growth depends on product quality and reputation. She has been combining traditional brushes with cultural and creative products and gift sets to attract more consumers.