What Zhang Xiaoquan is known for

Zhang Xiaoquan has forged scissors in the Hangzhou tradition since 1628, and in 2006 its layered steel-and-iron forging technique was listed among China's first National Intangible Cultural Heritage items. The centuries-old name now also makes kitchen knives, garden tools and cutting boards.

The Zhang clan moved to Hangzhou and founded Zhang Xiaoquan in 1628, building scissors from fine steel sourced from Longquan and combining it with ancestral forging craftsmanship. The brand takes its place among a handful of Chinese trade names that have operated under the same identity for close to four centuries.

Its reputation reached the imperial court during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735-1796), when Zhang Xiaoquan scissors were presented to the royal family and used within the palaces -- a mark of prestige that helped cement the brand's standing through the centuries that followed. In 2006, the State Council listed the company's layered steel-and-iron forging technique in the first official batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage items, formally recognising the craft.

Today the company trades well beyond scissors, with product lines spanning kitchen knives, cutting boards and garden and pruning tools sold through retail stores, e-commerce platforms and its own online shop -- one of the oldest surviving names in Chinese cutlery still trading under its original mark.