Shanghai rises as global design hub with 1.7 trillion yuan output

Shanghai is poised to become a world-class design city, with its creative design industry output exceeding 1.7 trillion yuan ($253 billion), according to official sources.

"In recent years, Shanghai has made significant strides in enhancing the cultural and creative competitiveness of its design industry, and a comprehensive industry chain for cultural and creative design is taking shape," said Zhu Zhongming, acting mayor of Shanghai, at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Design Cities Conference on Sept 28.

With its creative design industry now surpassing 1.7 trillion yuan, Shanghai's design sector has emerged as a new hallmark of the city, Zhu noted. "Design plays a crucial role in representing a city's cultural soft power and acts as a catalyst for high-quality economic and social development," he added, emphasizing that Shanghai will fully leverage its strengths in the creative design industry to build a world-class industrial system.

Jointly organized by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and UNESCO, the 2026 World Design Cities Conference was held from September 28 to 30, featuring over 100 themed activities.

During the opening ceremony, guidance for enhancing urban and community sustainability performance was launched. This guidance, based on the ISO 37105 standard, is a publicly available specification (PAS) for a City of Design.

For the first time since joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network 16 years ago, Shanghai's achievements have become a global benchmark.

The main exhibition of the conference opens to the public on Sept 26, showcasing more than 3,000 exhibits from nearly 500 brands. Emerging trendy brands make up over 40 percent of the exhibits, while international brands account for more than 20 percent.

Additionally, the conference features a 4,000-square-meter outdoor design carnival area.