A young American who took a train from Guangzhou to Beijing in 1980 remembers that one of the most frequently asked questions from his fellow passengers was "how much does a color television cost in your country?" Back then, having a color TV was a sign of affluence in China.

Mass production had not begun and a 20-inch Toshiba or Sharp imported from Japan cost 4,000 to 5,000 yuan -- roughly what an average worker could make in 10 years.

In the 26 years since then, color TVs have changed from being a luxury product to a mass-market commodity.

Today, a 21-inch cathode-ray tube TV sells for as little as 800 yuan (100 U.S. dollars), less than a month's wages for an average urban worker.

Booming industry -- here comes China Over the same period, China's TV makers have risen to dominate the world market. They now produce nearly half the 160 million TV sets produced globally each year.

By the end of 2005, Chinese companies had produced 590 million color TVs and exported 172 million, the Ministry of Information Industry said.

Companies like TCL, Konka, Changhong and Haier have all established their names in the international marketplace over the past decade.

TCL, based in south China's Guangdong Province near Hong Kong, has become one of the world's most powerful TV makers following its 2004 takeover of France's Thomson group.

In the first half of the year, the company grabbed 11 percent of the global color TV market with 10.88 million sets sold worldwide.

China's second largest TV maker Changhong has entered 120 million homes in 100 countries other than China since the company began to tap the international market in 1998.

Chinese companies have excelled in international competition since the late 1980s with quality products and low prices.

On the way, they have had to learn how to solve trade disputes and circumvent obstacles.

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