Award-winning works of design at the latest National Exhibition of Fine Arts includes the Dinosaur Egg Geological Museum in Shiyan, Hubei province.[Photo provided to China Daily]

He adds it also helps people envision more possibilities of the trains' exteriors and interiors with the assistance of increasingly intelligent designs.

Some designs reflect a trend of integrating Chinese aesthetics into modern lifestyles.

Fashion designer Li Aihong, from Zhejiang province, won silver for using traditional fabrics of the Dong ethnic group to create a set of clothes called Yilu Wennuan ("warmth").

"Dong people have preserved a 1,000-year-old technique of producing handmade cotton cloth called liang bu. Plant dyes render a purple hue and a texture that are mysterious and serene," Li says.

"I was captivated by the cloth at first sight. It bears the warmth of the people who've worn it for centuries and conveys their belief in harmony with nature."

Li uses digital cutting technology to transform the ancient cloth into new material with an elaborate sculptural form.