Workers dry raw materials for cashmere products in the yard of a warehouse on Dec. 2 in Sangpo village, Henan province, China’s biggest production base of snow boots. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

Employees at one of the workshops that makes cashmere products start their day in the early morning of Dec. 2. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

People looking for work warm themselves by a fire under an overpass near the entrance to Sangpo. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

During the peak season for sales of cashmere products, street peddlers and delivery drivers are always busy preparing to send products bought via e-commerce. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

Empty shoe boxes are carried from a truck to one of the warehouses. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

The shopkeeper of a store selling woollen scarves and caps packs items, as her daughter sits in a stroller watching a purchasing agent trim loose threads off goods before they are delivered. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

A clerk packs shoe boxes at a shop in Sangpo on Dec. 1. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

A deliveryman collects cashmere products at a store in Sangpo at midnight on Dec. 1. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

Early morning is the quietest period of the day in Sangpo when most of the shopkeepers are asleep after a busy night and the next shift has yet to show up at the workshops. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin