Global Call for Entries! Second Wenhan Qishan Creative Product Design Competition in Xiqiao
The picturesque Xiqiao Mountain, delicious Xiqiao Big Pies, the martial arts skills of Huang Fei Hong, the brave and mighty Xiqiao Lions... The cultural heritage of Xiqiao, its tourist attractions, historical and cultural elements, all constitute an impression symbol of Xiqiao.
On the morning of April 7th, the ‘Impression Xiqiao – 2020 Foshan Nanhai Second Session of the Wenhan Qishan Creative Product Design Competition’ was officially launched at Xiqiao Gushan Small Town. The competition will widely solicit excellent cultural and creative design works worldwide. Creative designers will rely on the urban IP of Xiqiao Town, its cultural connotations, natural landscapes, humanistic atmosphere, and tourist attractions, or utilize and explore the rich non-material cultural heritage resources and cultural relics of the Lingnan culture, to submit creative design works with ‘memorial significance,’ ‘artistic value,’ ‘practicality,’ ‘collectibility,’ and ‘uniqueness.’
During the launch ceremony, the concept work awarded in the first competition was successfully incubated, including a skateboarding with Xiqiao Lion patterns, a keychain of ‘landmarks’ of Xiqiao, etc.
The second Wenhan Qishan Creative Product Design Competition is guided by the Publicity and Culture and Sports Affairs Bureau of Xiqiao Town, and hosted by Guangdong Gushan Hotel Management Co., Ltd. The Foshan Nanhai Museum, Xiqiao Cultural Station, Xiqiao Mountain Scenic Area, Nanhai Bay Ecological Forest Park, Fishery Charm Cultural Tourism Garden, National Grand Theatre and Fragrance Silk (Rayon Fabric) Craftsmanship Training Base are co-organizers.
This competition focuses on two categories: creative product design for tourism and leisure and creative product design for non-material cultural heritage. It is open to worldwide invitation for: domestic and foreign university design students and faculty, enterprise or design company designers, and all kinds of design enthusiasts. Participation is free of registration fees; the age and nationality of participants are not restricted. The number of works submitted is unlimited (works that have won related awards or prizes are not allowed to participate).
The competition’s initial evaluation will exhibit and display all works on online and offline platforms. Online and offline public voting will be conducted simultaneously. 30% of the votes from the public will be used, and 70% of the scores from the expert judges will be used to select 30 works that pass to the finals. The second review will be conducted by expert judges on-site scoring. The 30 advanced works (15 qualification slots in each category) will invite participants or teams to attend a five-day training camp in Xiqiao to deepen their understanding of Xiqiao Mountain’s Lingnan culture.
This competition will continue the mission of the first competition, explore the planning and production and dissemination of Lingnan creative products, and guide the innovation and design of Xiqiao tourism and creative products, allowing young people to truly feel the changes and charm of the Xiqiao Lingnan Culture and Tourism Small Town. Gushan Small Town, as a Youth Exchange Base between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, has always been committed to developing cultural activities for young people in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Last year it successfully held the First Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Culture and Creative Week, of which ‘The First Wenhan Qishan Creative Product Design Competition’ received about 200 works from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay Area. Award-winning concept works were successfully incubated and became one of the best-selling products in Nanhai Tourism.
Unlike previous years, this year’s solicitation range will expand from the Bay Area to the whole world. On the day of the launch, Guangdong Game Industry Association Chairman Lu Xiaokun said, “We strongly support Xiqiao to hold such a competition, expanding the solicitation range, we hope to let more creative young people come out, looking forward to their excellent works.”
As a Lingnan town – Xiqiao Town, it has the Pearl River Civilization Lampstand – Xiqiao Mountain, the rare beautiful Swan Fish Pond and other natural ecological, rural scenery and cultural charm. This competition fully utilizes and explores the rich non-material cultural heritage resources and cultural relics of Lingnan culture, integrating ‘culture and life’ and ‘tradition and contemporary’ organically, and better plays the role of Xiqiao in the Bay Area, integrates the Bay Area’s cultural and tourism resources, utilizes Xiqiao’s Lingnan cultural advantages, explores ‘tourism plus’ work, improves the structure of the tourism and cultural industry, and guides the innovation and design of Xiqiao tourism and creative products to meet the new generation of consumers’ fresh expectations and power, explore the planning and production and dissemination of Lingnan creative products, adapt to the lifestyle and consumption preferences of the new generation, and at the same time, carry out creative product design and development of non-material cultural heritage, which is to protect and inherit it. With the help of this creative product competition, Xiqiao’s Lingnan culture will be deeply embedded in the young and mass market, which will further upgrade the tourism industry system, accelerate the rise of Xiqiao Lingnan Culture and Tourism Small Town, and promote all-around tourism development and lead the district's development.
Currently, Xiqiao Town’s tourist souvenir shops also sell Xiqiao Big Pies, Xiqiao Mountain Lychee Wine, Double Shoulder Stone Tool U-Disk, Lion Head Doll Plush Toys, Lion Head Shirts etc. with local characteristics, and with the increasing demand for spiritual culture, the production and dissemination of creative products adapt to the lifestyle and consumption preferences of the new generation; at the same time, targeted at non-material cultural heritage, creative products design and development is to protect and inherit it. Utilizing this creative product competition, will take Xiqiao’s Lingnan culture deep into the young and mass market, which will further upgrade the tourism industry system, accelerate the rise of Xiqiao Lingnan Culture and Tourism Small Town, and promote all-around tourism development and lead the district's development.
Reported by: South China Morning Post reporter Guan Wanling
