Hardware: traditional hardware products, also known as "hardware". Refers to gold, silver, copper, iron and tin. After manual processing, it can be made into works of art or metal utensils such as knives and swords. Hardware in modern society is more extensive, such as hardware tools, hardware accessories, daily hardware, building hardware, security supplies and so on. Most hardware products are not final consumer goods.

After more than 30 years of development, China's hardware industry has become more mature and occupies an important position in the world market. At present, the output of many hardware products in China ranks first in the world, such as lighters, zippers, wrenches and pliers, which have good sales records abroad. At the same time, after years of development, the characteristics of China hardware industry cluster development have gradually emerged.

China is one of the largest producers of hardware in the world, and has become a big country in hardware processing and export in the world, with broad market and consumption potential. With the development of social economy and under the new situation of hardware industry, cluster development also has obvious characteristics.

The development of hardware industrial clusters in China can be divided into three types. 1. Daxin Town, Zhangjiagang City, with a long history, as a typical representative, is an industrial satellite town where township enterprises started earlier in southern Jiangsu. It started with hardware and made a fortune by hardware, with a production history of more than 70 years. Second, industrial agglomeration, with Zhejiang Yongkang, a large-scale hardware industrial cluster with annual sales income exceeding 100 billion yuan, as a typical representative, has become a local pillar industry. Third, the market is developing. The typical representative is Xiaolan Town, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. After years of development, it has formed an industrial cluster with locks and gas appliance as the leader and complete upstream and downstream products and various accessories. These three types of industrial clusters have their own advantages and characteristics, which not only make great contributions to the local area, but also are important pillars to support the development of China's hardware industry and go abroad.

Industrial clusters have obvious advantages, which can effectively solve the problems of high management cost and agency cost, and avoid the problems of high transaction cost and logistics cost caused by long-distance transactions. Industrial clusters are conducive to the deep division of labor among enterprises, and then to specialization and refinement, to improving efficiency and to technological innovation. At the same time, it is conducive to attracting investment, saving transaction costs and stimulating competition awareness.