DOMINIQUE AGEORGES of Agence France-Presse in Shanghai

The architecture of the entrance building at the Mozhihua group site in Pinghu, outside Shanghai comes as a surprise.

It is a replica of the Capitol in Washington, topped off with a statue of the proprietor, Li Qinfu, a self-made man in his 40s — and a symbol of a China that has now opened itself up to capitalism.

Mr Li started up in the 1980s with 10 employees. Then he got a Japanese partner, and today his group has six factories on the site that employ more than 10,000 people, of which 1,300 work for Zhejiang Huasheng Garnments.

Another surprise can be found on the inside label of a pair of Calvin Klein Jeans trousers made here: “Made in China with imported fabric from Italy and Italian know-how for accessories and washing”.

“Most of the fabrics come by boat from Europe, Japan and Korea because the quality is better,” says Susan Ma, of the factory’s business department.

Zhejiang Huasheng Garments produces 5.5 million garments a year of all types: for men, for women, suits, skirts and shirts. Of this total, 97 per cent are exported: 80 per cent goes to Japan, 17 per cent to Europe and the United States.

The firm concentrates on sportswear or brands such as Levi’s, Guess, Miss Sixty, Aquascutum, Ted Lapidus, Dockers, and so on. The flavour is more middle-market than luxury.

On the first floor of the factory, in over 13,000 square metres of impeccable cleanliness, hundreds of workers are busy matching shirts to trousers or jumpers.

The majority of employees are both female and young, with most aged between 25 and 27. Many have come from rural areas to earn enough to help their parents or to pay for the studies of siblings or cousins.

They work for eight to 10 hours, seven days a week, and get two days off a month.

A Levi’s poster stands out. It says that the American giant works only with partners who respect its ethical code: the working week must be no longer than 64 hours, employees must have at least one day off a week, have freedom of association, proper sanitary conditions, no child labour.

At the end of each section, a meter sets out the quota for the day. Here, it is 520 pieces for 110 completed garments by the end of the morning, there, 160 for 35, and so on. Workers are categorised by the colour of their cap: white for basic, yellow for control, red for maintenance.

“The technical evolution goes with the more and more complicated products asked for by our customers. Before doing a pair of jeans was simple. Today not,” adds Ms Ma.

Previously, the factory made 600 to 700 pairs a day but the numbers has tumbled towards 300 or 400.

Similarly, the Chinese workers have had to get washing so that the denim used in the jeans has a lived-in look. It’s an innovation they don’t seem to have got used to.

“It costs three dollars more to wash the trousers for two hours in a machine,” says the guide.

Whatever these products look like, local consumers will never see them. Ms Ma says the clothes are not sold in China because the prices are too high.

The production cost of basic Calvin Klein jeans is US$2.5 (HK$19.5), says Ma. The wholesale price is US$10, but can be found sold in town for 900 yuan. The average monthly salary of a worker at the factory is 1,200 yuan, she adds.