Designers and architects from China are being honoured at international design events this year, as the nation comes of age as a creative powerhouse.
Four key events, three in Europe and one in Canada, have in the first few months of 2019 invited Chinese designers to take a leading role.
Shanghai architects and designers Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu of Neri&Hu were guests of honour at both Stockholm Furniture Fair in February, and at IDS Toronto the previous month.
In January, Parisian design fair Maison&Objet honoured six young Chinese designers as rising talents.
Later this month, China will be guest of honour at Design Biennale Saint-Étienne in France, which features a three-part exhibition examining Chinese design.
Chen Furong was one of the rising talents at Maison&Objet fair in January "Over the last years, the rise of Chinese design has become undeniable," the biennale's programme states. "Far from the stereotype of mass consumption and low-quality products, for China, design is a major lever in economic development today."
Fan Zhe, who is curating the Chinese element of the Biennale, described Chinese design today as "like all kinds of flowers blooming together".
"Chinese designers' learning, adoption and accumulation over a long period of time and through communication with international designers has led to a change in quality this year," he said.
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