Youth Creative Design Training Program in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area
5th Anniversary Retrospective & Forum on Digital Intelligence and Design Innovation
On December 2, 2025, the "5th Anniversary Report of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area Youth Creative Design (Creative 100) Talent Training Program and the Seminar on Digital Intelligence and Design Innovation" was successfully held at the Tsinghua University Art Museum, sponsored by the Cultural Heritage and Creative Industry Research Institute of Jinan University and jointly planned by the UNESCO "World Traditional Handicraft Inheritance and Innovation Chair". Scholars and guests from Tsinghua University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Jinan University, and cultural departments witnessed the phased achievements of the five-year development of "Creativity 100" and conducted in-depth discussions on exploring the path of "talent cultivation, creative design, and international dissemination of Chinese culture".
This event is a systematic summary of the national cultural soft power strategy empowered by cultural heritage creativity, and also a model practice for Chinese young design talents to participate in global cultural governance mechanisms.
(Creative 100) Talent Training Program 5th Anniversary Report and Digital Intelligence and Design Innovation Seminar Event Site
Five years of practice | From experiment to mechanism
The "Creativity 100" program was launched in 2020, planned and initiated by Professor Chen Ping, Dean of the Cultural Heritage and Creative Industry Research Institute of Jinan University, Chief Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage and Innovation Chair in Traditional Handicrafts, and Chairman of the International Organization of Folk Arts (IOV). It has received strong support from the Beijing Chen Jiang and Public Welfare Foundation. As the Secretary General of the Foundation, Wu Wei, said, "Since its inception, this project has carried Mr. Chen Jianghe's profound patriotism and earnest expectations for cultural inheritance. In today's world where AI big data technology is increasingly integrated into design, only continuous learning can lead to continuous progress. The height of 'Creativity 100' will also represent the foundation's firm confidence in education, allowing more young people to strengthen their confidence in national culture through training, inherit excellent Chinese cultural heritage, and showcase more Chinese wisdom and concepts with rich and colorful creative products in this era of globalization.
The project is committed to cultivating a group of young talents with a sense of cultural mission, international expression, and regenerative design ability through the path of "cultural heritage+creative design+international communication". Over the past five years, the project has trained a total of 109 young students, including designers, inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, young teachers, master's and doctoral students, and digital creators. The students come from the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and key universities and cultural institutions across the country, with over 40 project mentors from globally renowned universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Tongji University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and MIT.
Associate Professor Li Zhen from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (left), representative of the mentor for "Creativity 100", guest professor at Tsinghua University, and founder of the Life Aesthetics Lecture Hall, Professor Lin Zhenzhong (right)
Creative 100 "takes" cross-border, cross-cultural, and cross media "as its methodological core. Every year, it selects different cultural sites, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Lijiang, etc., to conduct field research and in-depth interviews around traditional crafts, folk art, and local communities. It organizes one-on-one exchanges with intangible cultural heritage inheritors, themed workshops, and creative achievement exhibitions to promote the regeneration and innovative expression of cultural heritage in the perspective of young people.
Expert gathering | institutional construction of public communication culture mechanism
On the day of the seminar, Associate Professor Li Zhen from the Central Academy of Fine Arts presided over the opening ceremony. Senior Professor of Humanities and Director of the Art Museum at Tsinghua University, Lu Xiaobo, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Association, Cai Daying, representative of the mentor, Lin Zhenzhong, and representative of the students, Hu Xianming, delivered speeches successively, highly praising the experimental significance of the "Creative 100" as a cultural and talent mechanism. Everyone unanimously agreed that the plan "transforms intangible cultural heritage protection, youth education, and cultural strategy into a structural path, providing a complete paradigm for young people to become cultural creators, disseminators, and mechanism builders".
Roundtable Forum: "Mutual Empowerment and Inheritance Development of Traditional Culture and Contemporary Creative Design" on-site
The two roundtable forums respectively focus on "Mutual Empowerment and Inheritance Development of Traditional Culture and Contemporary Creative Design" and "Overseas Dissemination and International Promotion of Chinese Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age". The guest lineup includes Deng Yan, Deputy Director of the Tsinghua University Art Museum, Professor Wang Zhong from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Co Chair of the UNESCO World Traditional Handicraft Inheritance and Innovation Chair, Professor Wang Qijun from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Professor Li Wei from the Tsinghua University School of Fine Arts, Qi Xin, Editor in Chief of the Overseas Edition of People's Daily, Yang Chaolun, former Senior Editor of the International Department of Xinhua News Agency, Hu Yu, Dean of the Tsinghua University Cultural and Creative Development Research Institute, Yao Zhihua, former Director of the National Arts Fund, and Liu Tao, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Jinan University. The forum discussion showcased the global challenges and innovation opportunities faced by the active heritage and youth participation mechanisms in the context of the tripartite symbiosis of "digital culture design".
Roundtable Forum: "Overseas Dissemination and International Promotion of Chinese Cultural Heritage in the Era of Digital Intelligence" on-site
Disscusion guests
Achievement Report Exhibition | Youth's Response to the Reshaping Tradition
The seminar also held the "Creative Unlimited" exhibition, which showcased representative works from the first five editions of the "Creative 100" from 2020 to 2024: digital collection and AI interpretation of Miao embroidery patterns, VR modeling of Dunhuang mural restoration schemes, regeneration design of bamboo and rattan crafts and community spaces, public welfare illustration systems inspired by ethnic minority myths, and cultural venue curation schemes for urban renewal. This fully reflects the creativity and public awareness of contemporary youth between "respecting tradition" and "responding to reality".
Exhibition Presentation of Works on 'The Way of Creation: Infinite Creativity'
Professor Chen Ping pointed out in his keynote speech, "Living heritage is not a retelling of restoration, but a mechanism design for regeneration. Youth are not the 'end inheritors' of culture, but the co creators and social imaginings of culture.' Creativity 100 'is not an exhibition or a course, but a long-term systematic project that spans cultural heritage, design education, and public mechanisms.
Cai Daying, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Society, made a speech
Cai Daying, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Arts and Crafts Association, said: "Creativity 100" is a very remarkable project. Getting up early and seizing the opportunity. The achievements of the past five years are certainly gratifying, but they have become the past and the future is here. The demand for talents, especially young talents, in society is far greater than five years ago. If 'creativity shapes youth' is the first half, then 'cultural achievement youth' is the second half of the ten-year contract.
Mentor guest group photo
International recognition and cooperation vision
The "Creative 100" has been recognized multiple times by UNESCO. Andrey Chevelev, former director of the Asia Pacific Department and recipient of the 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award, praised the program as an international model for establishing collaborative mechanisms between youth, heritage, and innovation. Andre said: "With the arrival of a new era, the development of China's cultural and creative industries is facing a new mission, especially in the context of the 'the Belt and Road' initiative and the construction of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. The research and practice of cultural and creative industries should strengthen the integration of industry, education and research, actively explore the generation of high-quality cultural products, and constantly promote the healthy and sustainable development of emerging cultural industries."
Student representative Hu Xianming (left) Mr. Li Yongping, founder of Nanping Shuzi Donghui (middle) Mr. Liu Xuan, Deputy Director of the Urban Design and Innovation Research Institute of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (right)
Currently, China is accelerating the construction of a strong cultural nation and cultural soft power, promoting the implementation of strategies such as the "14th Five Year Plan for Cultural Development" and the "Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture Inheritance and Development Project".
Chen Ping said, "This plan aims to use contemporary aesthetic perspectives and advanced design concepts to make traditional Chinese handicrafts more refined, fashionable, and international, especially saleable and practical. We encourage young designers to actively participate in the development of the creative industry, conduct in-depth research and bold innovation, in order to promote the sustainable development of traditional handicrafts, make excellent traditional culture the source of creativity, empower innovation and creativity, and make more traditional culture products, works of art, and daily necessities. Through the creative industry, cultural heritage can become a part of life, visible, tangible, portable, and affordable, forming an international fashion brand that truly leads the fashion trend. Over the past five years, we have achieved good results through a comprehensive talent training system that spans disciplines, cultures, and fields. At the same time, we hope to train young creative design talents to not only master cutting-edge technologies but also deeply understand the cultural connotations of the nation, truly growing into future design leaders with a sense of social responsibility. ”
Mentor and attending students, students take a group photo
In the future "Creative 100" training program, the Cultural Heritage Creative Industry Research Institute of Jinan University will continue to expand the diversified mechanism of creative design talent training, establish cooperation networks with international professional institutions, and conduct joint courses, resident exchanges, and mechanism research with universities, cultural and design institutions in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, providing Chinese experience for countries in the South and youth expression for the image of China in the new era.
