Fun Fact: Vuvuzelas are blown in South Africa but made in China

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The blast that has annoyed millions can be traced to Chinese factories. Soccer fans in China said if they can't see their team play in the World Cup, at least they can hear the blare of Chinese-manufactured horns.

If you need another reminder of China's manufacturing omnipresence, just turn on your TV for any World Cup match.

That incessant drone that sounds like a swarm of bees crossed with elephants? Made in China.
South Africans may have inspired the vuvuzela — the horn that, when sounded by hundreds of thousands of soccer fans, has irritated people the world over — but it's the Chinese who can make millions of them for about 30 cents apiece and have them shipped to your shores in weeks.

Industry officials said about 90% of the world's vuvuzelas are produced in two coastal provinces: Guangdong and Zhejiang.

Most manufacturers called them "fan horns" until Chinese state TV recently christened the horns with a name Chinese speakers could get their tongues around, wuwuzula.

Although Chinese factories have been molding the horns in small numbers for years, everything changed last fall when massive orders started streaming in from South Africa.

"We sold about 150,000 of them every month from November to January," said Lin Xiaosheng, owner of Guang Da Toys in Yiwu. "I couldn't imagine it would become so popular."

The cylindrical instruments emblazoned with different nations' flags have been controversial since last summer's Confederations Cup, also in South Africa, when teams complained they couldn't communicate over the noise.

Vuvuzelas are said to be modeled after the traditional African kudu horn, named for the animal they come from and used to alert neighboring villagers.

Despite pleas from disgruntled soccer players, FIFA has rejected a ban on the horns, which are also raising the ire of television viewers, according to several broadcasters, including ESPN.

The view in China is decidedly different. The soccer-crazed nation has to endure another tournament without their national team.

China has qualified for the World Cup only once, in 2002, and flamed out quickly. If it's a plastic horn that looks like a pub's yard glass that makes it to the competition on China's behalf instead, well, so be it.

"We can say we qualified for the World Cup," said Wu Yijun, whose 90 factory workers have churned out 1 million vuvuzelas since January. "It makes me feel very proud to hear the horns on TV."

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