A large installation featuring cloth made using four traditional techniques in China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Traditional art and handicrafts were the highlights at this year's Shanghai Design Week which took place at the Shanghai Exhibition Center from Aug 31 to Sept 2.

This year, the fair featured the theme Recreator, highlighting the relationship that design has with humanity, scientific innovation and sustainability.

Covering 25,000 square meters in exhibition space, the fair attracted more than 200 companies from around the world that presented 10,000 new design products.

The centerpiece of the fair was a large installation in the central lobby that featured dozens of steel frames from which hung long pieces of cloth made using four traditional techniques found in China. Titled The Forest of a Hundred Birds, this installation was created by three traditional Chinese craftsmen with the help of a graphic designer.

Chirping sounds could be heard as visitors entered the installation, a means of creating an impression that people were walking through a forest of birds. Images of birds, some printed and others embroidered, could be found on the cloth as well.

Among the cloth was blue calico designed and created by Wu Yuanxin and his Blue Calico Museum. The 60-year-old from Nantong of Jiangsu province has spent more than half his life collecting and researching traditional Chinese blue calico, which is recognized as one of China's intangible culture heritage.

People in China were believed to have dyed cloth using the sap and pulp of several kinds of grass as early as 1,300 years ago, Wu told China Daily during the exhibition. Many other techniques of dyeing and processing the blue cloth later emerged.

Traditional Chinese blue calico could measure dozens of meters long but the width is always no more than 60 centimeters. This is because all the cloth is woven on a small loom operated by one person. Traditionally, the cloth was made into bedcovers, wrapping cloth and blankets.

Today, the traditional craft can still be widely found in 22 provinces in China. According to Wu, the finest samples, where the patterns and craftsmanship are of exceptional standards, mostly come from the Yangtze River Delta region.

Products by young designer Shi Bowen, who uses the traditional blue calico dyeing on wood. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wu first learned about blue calico when he started working at his family workshop which made the cloth. He later became an apprentice at a factory in Jiangsu province before studying arts and design. Following his graduation, he worked for 10 years in an institute that researched Chinese blue calico before starting to create his own patterns. When the institute closed in 1996, he decided to establish a museum dedicated to traditional blue calico.

At his museum, Wu grows the grass and cotton used for the dye and cloth respectively. He also provides training courses to promote the traditional craft. He notes that the blue calico is still popular among people today. Items made from the cloth, such as cushions, pillow cases, curtains and purses, are the most popular among museum goers. There have even been times when his products were worn by Chinese national leaders' wives during their international visits.

"They are the best ambassadors of our cultural heritage, and we are greatly honored to contribute to the showcase of China's traditional art and crafts on the international stage," he said.

Zhang Lili, deputy professor with the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts (SAFA) in Shanghai University, was the person who brought the traditional craftsmen together to create The Forest of a Hundred Birds installation. As the director of the Public Art Coordinating Center (PACC) of the academy, Zhang has since 2015 been working to help promote handicrafts recognized as China's intangible cultural heritage.

"Ms Zhang holds with one hand the inheritors of China's intangible cultural heritage, and with the other contemporary artists and designers," said Chen Zhigang, a professor with SAFA, at a forum during the Shanghai Design Week. "She has brought them together and created a large number of outstanding projects."

"Many of China's craftsmen live in villages and have no training in art or design," said Zhang.

"In the past three years, we have provided free training courses on art basics such as colors and graphic design to 16 classes consisting of inheritors of China's intangible cultural heritage."

This year, PACC collaborated with theater director Xu Jun to create the musical production The White Snake. The costumes and headdresses were designed to feature traditional Chinese handicrafts such as silk embroidery and jewelry made with fine gold threads.

"When the musical premiered at the Hongqiao Art Center on April 19, we presented an exhibition at the gateway to introduce the fine crafts of intangible cultural heritage so that audiences could experience the beauty of traditional culture before watching the show," she said.

"All the cultural heritages have gone through centuries to reach this contemporary age, and they need to join in the spirit of today," she said at the forum. "We can view the heritage as a life form, which has to keep evolving and renewing itself."

Aside from the installation, PACC also showcased 400 design products at the fair, including shawls, dresses and boots made with yak wool and fine yak cashmere from the Tibetan plateau.

The series was jointly created by Sonam Tamdrin, an entrepreneur from the Aba autonomous prefecture of Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups in Sichuan province, and designers from luxury shoemaker Sheme.

"We have had the culture and craft of weaving in Tibet for 1,700 years," he said at the forum.

"But we have only started to make yak cashmere products recently. We always try to keep the original colors of the wool and cashmere, and we believe it is important to stay true to Tibetan yak culture. We hope our products can win the recognition and support of urban consumers."

He Zhifen, an official from Aba, spoke about how the project benefitted those living in the impoverished region.

"We have established associations for embroidery and weaving craftsmen and collaborations between enterprises and workshops. This means that thousands of women from the community can enjoy flexible working hours and make money at home," she said.