Beijing pearl festival marries tradition with modernity

On Wednesday evening, the opening ceremony of the ninth Beijing Hongqiao International Pearl Culture Festival was held in Beijing, bringing together Chinese and international guests for a celebration of pearls that blended Eastern elegance with a global outlook.

Centered on the development of the pearl industry, the festival aims to inject fresh momentum into the integrated development of culture, commerce and tourism, supporting Beijing's efforts to build itself into an international consumption center city.

A signature cultural event of Hongqiao Market in Beijing, the festival was first held in 2005 and has since been staged eight times.

This year's festival runs for nearly 40 days and focuses on five areas: international people-to-people and cultural exchange, industry research and study, cross-border commerce, jewelry innovation, and the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. The program includes an opening ceremony, 14 themed salons and 27 online and offline consumer promotion activities.

The opening ceremony brought together government officials, diplomatic envoys from several countries, leading figures from the jewelry industry, entrepreneurs from China and abroad, and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage.

Participants shared views on the development of the pearl and jewelry industries and explored opportunities for cultural exchange and cooperation. Discussions covered pearl industry development, quality assurance and talent development in the jewelry sector, industry supervision, global cooperation, and closer integration of culture, commerce and tourism.

Li Tiange, director of the brand building and intellectual property department of the Gems and Jewelry Trade Association of China, released a special report on behalf of the association on the development trends of China's pearl industry in 2026.

The report examines the industry from four perspectives: macroeconomic data, industry characteristics, existing weaknesses and potential paths for further development. Li noted that the pearl industry faces both opportunities and challenges ahead.

She said she hoped Hongqiao Market would bring together resources from across the sector, promote improvements in quality and efficiency, empower designer brands and merchants, and continue to play a leading and demonstrative role as a State-owned enterprise. These efforts, she said, could help steer the industry toward more standardized, branded and internationalized development.

The evening concluded with a pearl-themed Chinese-style fashion show, which brought together jewelry and fashion in a celebration of traditional aesthetics and contemporary design.

The show featured three styles — celebrity-inspired pieces, contemporary fashion designs and Chinese-style national trends — complemented by exquisite hats and accessories. Ten classic pearl jewelry pieces were presented in sequence, creating a visual dialogue between traditional aesthetics and modern fashion and highlighting the distinctive appeal of Eastern design.