BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- At a cultural park in Suzhou, a silk hub in east China, visitors are greeted by plump silkworms and resilient threads. Built by a silk company, the park has a unique identity unlike any other.
Hu Yufang, board chair of Suzhou Taihu Snow Silk Co., Ltd., told Xinhua that the park is designed to solve a long-standing problem: products were sold, but consumers had no role in or connection to the production.
She decided to open up the production process, allowing customers to witness the making of silk firsthand. "It's about bringing sericulture out of the museum and turning it into engaging, shareable content," Hu said.
Her approach is in line with a broader national push to leverage the country's rich cultural heritage and build strong global brands. Earlier this week, China unveiled its first national guideline on boosting the high-quality development of time-honored industries such as silk, tea and porcelain.
The guideline encourages integrating these heritage industries with culture, tourism, and rural revitalization. This comes as Chinese consumers are shifting from "buying more goods" to "seeking better services and experiences."
The guideline also calls for building "industrial brains" in major production areas, applying AI to decode traditional craftsmanship, and developing smart factories to help classical industries innovate while preserving tradition.
SILK: FROM ANCIENT CRAFT TO DIGITAL DESIGN
This drive to make heritage accessible and usable is also evident in museums. The Suzhou Silk Museum has built an AI-powered database after completing a high-definition digital collection of 50,000 silk patterns such as peonies and scroll designs from its archives.
These digital assets are finding new life. Zou Yujia, a young designer, combined these patterns with modern aesthetics to create butterfly brooches, car pendants and fridge magnets that appeal to youthful generations.
Technology is also revolutionizing silk production. At the "future factory" of Wensli Group in Hangzhou, a silk base and tech hub in east China's Zhejiang Province, AI is changing the game.
While consumers can design personalized silk scarves through the company's AIGC model, plain white fabric can be transformed into an exquisitely printed scarf in as little as half an hour, generating minimal carbon emissions or wastewater.
"Today's consumers, especially young people, crave quality, personalization and emotional value, and we will continue to innovate and optimize supply to meet their needs," said Tu Hongyan, chairperson of Wensli.
Tu added that innovation has transformed Wensli from importing technologies and services to exporting its own independent, new inventions.
The silk industry is also strengthening international bonds. In 2019, the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou established its first overseas workstation in Russia's Stavropol.
Following its inception, the workstation has facilitated extensive collaborative research, such as the joint restoration of a roughly 1,000-year-old robe found in the area.
Wang Shujuan, a technical director at the museum, told Xinhua that restoring the robe wasn't just about "piecing fragments together." It required joint analysis and a combination of Chinese and Russian technologies.
Such restoration shows that textiles can reveal far more than meets the eye. For instance, fibers can help researchers trace a fabric's cultural origins while weaving techniques and motifs can illuminate the spread of technology, trade and cultural exchanges among different communities.
TEA: BLEND OF TRADITION AND TECH
In spring this year, the harvest of West Lake Longjing tea unfolded under the hum of a drone that transported fresh tea leaves down the misty hills in Longjing Village, a core Longjing tea production area in Hangzhou.
West Lake Longjing tea, known for its flat leaves, fresh aroma and mellow taste, ranks among China's top 10 tea varieties. The village, having grown green tea for over a thousand years, is embracing automation.
"A drone completes the journey in just five minutes, while it takes at least half an hour to carry leaves down on foot," said Qi Yingjie, chairman of Hangzhou West Lake Longjing Tea Co., Ltd.
The leaves are then processed in a digitalized factory. The facility houses over 300 machines across 12 production lines. From withering to packaging, the process is fully automated, requiring only six workers to monitor operations.
"A skilled tea master might produce about half a kilogram a day by hand. At full capacity, this factory can match the output of thousands of workers," said Zhou Chuangchuang, the factory head.
Zhou added that the system incorporates experience from veteran tea artisans, translating traditional hand-roasting techniques into precise machine settings. The company said its customized mechanical production line can achieve artisanal quality at an industrial scale.
Market demand is reshaping the industry. Longjing tea has become a key ingredient in new-style tea beverages targeting younger consumers. Tea drink chains such as Naisnow have launched premium product lines incorporating its cultural branding and Longjing tea.
In Longjing tea's home region, this trend is also reshaping how the tea industry connects with tourism.
Miao Yaqin, head of the Rural Leisure Tourism Association in Hangzhou, has been exploring how to weave tea culture into tourism. "Our plan this year is to have every teahouse in the Longjing Village update its menu to incorporate tea into dishes, so that meals can help drive tea sales," she said.
What brings her even greater joy is seeing the second and third generations of tea farming families return home, eager to carry on their heritage and shape the future of the industry.
"These young people are mostly well-educated, and some even hold master's degrees. They bring broader horizons and more open minds," Miao said. "They excel at innovation, introducing cold-brew tea and tea-based fruit cocktails, redefining how Longjing tea is enjoyed."
In Wengjiashan Village, another core Longjing tea production area, similar efforts are underway. "In 2025, we started hosting concerts in the tea gardens, each drawing over 2,000 visitors," village head Sun Bin told Xinhua.
Sun added that the concerts, running from May to October, turn the tea hills into open-air music stages beyond the picking season. "We want to attract more young people to the tea hills. With cultural tourism projects taking off, villagers' incomes have risen, and the whole village has come alive," Sun said.
PORCELAIN: IP INNOVATION AND GLOBAL APPEAL
In China's "porcelain capital" Jingdezhen, tradition is meeting pop culture.
"Vases and plates used to be the mainstay of the porcelain industry," said Xu Wan, general manager of Jingdezhen Chentian Ceramics, noting that they are targeting the youth market with collectible toys.
As Pop Mart's exclusive ceramic partner, the company uses traditional techniques to create collectible toys.
Xu pointed to a crowned Molly figurine commissioned by Pop Mart and decorated using Jingdezhen's traditional bahua technique, often described as "needlework on porcelain." When a ceramic version of Molly went online, 40,000 orders were snapped up in just two seconds.
"The best protection is living preservation," said Chen Kelong, Party chief of Jingdezhen, noting that the city is expected to develop more cultural and creative products.
This innovation is supported by Jingdezhen's comprehensive industrial chain. The city boasts abundant reserves of kaolin, or China clay, and other essential raw materials. With more than 60,000 ceramic studios, Jingdezhen has a comprehensive industrial chain that sustains over 100,000 workers.
Experts believe that the city's irreplaceable strength lies in its highly specialized industry, which frees outsiders from the need to be all-round craftsmen. This has won it favor among artists who value both tradition and practicality.
French visual artist Karima Duchamp experienced the city's craftsmanship firsthand. During her previous stay, she painted on clay bodies but struggled with the firing process.
In a local alley, she watched a craftsman expertly slide a multi-meter-long clay body into a kiln without a single flaw. This refined technique, honed over decades, instantly earned her trust.
"The city makes it so easy for outsiders to fit in. Even if you come for just a week, you can already feel accepted," Duchamp told Xinhua, adding that the expertise of local kiln masters is crucial in realizing her creation.
The world has taken note. The Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in July, filling a long-standing gap in the list for porcelain heritage. It is China's 61st World Heritage site.
Experts said that these centuries-old industries are no longer just preserving the past. By blending heritage with modern innovation, they are weaving a new narrative of Chinese craftsmanship that resonates across the globe. ■
