Cultural legacy prospers in Jinniu district

Area takes advantage of its history and talent to develop new fashions in Chengdu

Once a district boasting the hustle and bustle of city life and regarded as the epitome of traditional local lifestyles, Jinniu district in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, is now embracing arts that showcase new aspects of the city.

According to local officials, Jinniu has taken a new path to develop cultural and creative industries on the basis of its aesthetic space with cultural meanings. Now the district is stepping up its efforts to build a cultural and creative industry cluster and improve its policies to transform itself into a fashion hub, a place to host international competitions and a tourist spot for new experiences.

The creation of a new batch of landmarks in Jinniu is down to the integration of old residential areas and parks, and they have unique characteristics, a local official said.

Along Jinniu Avenue, the district now has a great number of venues, such as West China Couture Fashion Industrial Park, the 436 Cultural and Creative Industrial Park, New Jinniu Park and Nonly Idea Factory.

Among 80 places with a focus on the cultural and creative industry that have been approved by the local government since April, Jinniu has a raft of city-level demonstration cultural industrial parks and city blocks with local characteristics.

Situated in the central part of Chengdu and as a starting point of the southern Silk Road, Jinniu has a connection with apparel and textiles. West China Couture Fashion Industrial Park, the former site of Chengdu Railway Transportation School, has been repurposed to be an artistic area.

The park is not only home to studios and workshops of designers from all over the world, but also is favored by heirs to national intangible cultural heritage. Many universities also have set up research institutes and practice bases here, a local official said.

So far, the park has attracted 14 famous domestic designers, including the winner of the Golden Scissors Award in 2018 Bi Jinpei and one of China's top 10 leather designers Jiang Xi, as well as 39 emerging designers including Xian Wenwan, Wang Yuanyuan and Tang Manruo. Two-thirds of them have graduated from world-famous fashion institutes.

A total of 37 original brands have settled in the park too.

Because of the park, the nation's first haute couture industrial cluster and designer community are taking shape, a local official said.

Hu Guangjun, in his 70s, has been in the Shu brocade industry for over 50 years. He is the director of the Chengdu Ancient Shu Brocade Research Institute, a provincial intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Shu brocade, and a provincial craft master.

In order to develop cultural and creative products centering on Shu brocade, Hu set up a workshop in the park. Huang Haining, who is in charge of the branding and operation of the workshop, said: "We want to leverage fashion resources in the park and revive traditional techniques."

Huang said her love for Shu brocade has grown with time.

"Shu brocade is delicate as it can be used in female clothes and accessories, while it matches well with elements that young generations prefer," she said.

Shao Changfa, 24, a designer with Hu's workshop, has participated in the design of derivative products for the 31st Summer World University Games to be held in Chengdu. "I think there should be a Shu brocade base in Chengdu, as Shu brocade is not only important in the history of China, but also has a far-reaching influence on our neighboring countries. It is worth a study and should be inherited," Shao said.

Shao learned his skills from Hu and has created his own styles. He has now completed 10 Shu brocade designs. One of his designs combined pandas with traditional patterns to enliven the old technique.

To date, as the first haute couture industrial cluster in China, West China Couture Fashion Industrial Park has gained many industry resources and a great deal of attention. It provides a high-quality platform for talents like Shao who wants to work in the fashion industry in the western part of China. An innovative system integrating production, training, research, exhibition and sales has formed, according to the local government.

Another highlight in the Jinniu district is the 436 Cultural and Creative Industrial Park. It was built on the site of an abandoned warehouse in 2015 and it is the district's first industrial park with a focus on creative ideas, design and arts.

It is a place where visitors can get inspiration from the design of the block, rural vitalization, design of cultural and creative products and exhibition settings, a local official said.

Aether Design is one of many companies located in the park. Zhang Wei, its founder and also a veteran designer, has designed for Chongzhou city in Sichuan, Sany Heavy Industry in Hunan province and the Tianfu Greenway in Chengdu. According to local officials, the park provides a space for young designers to reach their potential and they in turn will produce more creative ideas that can contribute to the growth of the city.

Moreover, in the past seven years, the 436 Cultural and Creative Industrial Park has established cooperative relations with internationally renowned universities and design institutes such as Heidelberg University in Germany, the German Association for Industrial Design and Finland's Helsinki Design Week.

Yang Fang, who manages the park, said it is an important partner of Chengdu Creativity and Design Week. It takes part in the event each year, and has set up a brand called Chengdu College Student Fair, which encourages young people to showcase their creative products.

The park also focuses on the innovation of traditional culture, creating several cultural products with Chengdu's city flower hibiscus and local shadow puppetry as the sources of inspiration.

According to local officials, these parks give a sneak peek of the district's cultural and creative industry development. Other than them, the district has Fuhe Photography Art and Technology Industrial Park, New Jinniu Park pedestrian street and the Chishangjin Han costumes industrial and cultural street.

"In the future, Jinniu will continue to promote the vigorous development of cultural and creative industries and make a contribution to building Chengdu into a world-class cultural city," a local official said.

yinruowei@chinadaily.com.cn