For years, the phrase “Made in China” has been synonymous with factory production lines, cost efficiency and manufacturing scale. But China’s furniture industry is now undergoing a visible shift – moving away from production-led systems towards design-driven creative ecosystems, and from simply fulfilling orders to actively proposing new ways of living.

Design is no longer treated as an imported concept to be executed locally. Instead, it is becoming a core capability led by domestic brands. From material research to spatial storytelling, Chinese designers are building their own design language, supported by an increasingly mature commercial design ecosystem.

CIFF Contemporary Design Exhibition explores “Design Community”

As one of the most experimental and forward-looking sections of CIFF Guangzhou, the Contemporary Design Exhibition has evolved beyond a showcase of individual objects into a multi-layered design platform.

This year, the exhibition expands to 40,000 square metres, bringing together more than 60 commercial design brands, over 20 independent designer labels and upwards of 40 international studios. The 2026 theme, “Design Community”, reflects a new industry model in China – one defined by closer and more equal collaboration between designers, brands, manufacturers and markets.

A number of new participants join the exhibition this year, including CAMERICH, NEODIKO, Qianjin Meet, Pablo Now, Dickson, Kinetic, Nice Home, Casa Mucham Veittoii, Yeswood, Tonight Moon and Yuanshi Yuansu, signalling the continued expansion of China’s design-led commercial landscape.

From OEM thinking to original creation

More brands are now building in-house design and R&D teams, gradually reducing reliance on overseas aesthetics. Design is increasingly used to communicate culture and lifestyle, reframing “Made in China” as an integrated output of design intelligence, craftsmanship and lived experience.

Walking through the Contemporary Design Exhibition, visitors encounter work that balances market readiness with design sensitivity. Some brands revisit Eastern aesthetics through contemporary materials, embedding lacquer or traditional mortise-and-tenon craftsmanship techniques within minimalist structures. Others pursue refined modernism, while modular systems respond to shrinking urban homes and demands for multifunctional living.

CAMERICH’s X System exemplifies this shift. Built around X-section aluminium profiles produced through extrusion processes, the modular framework allows furniture to expand and adapt over time. Intersecting lines form X-shaped joints that dissolve traditional point-based structures, creating a sense of visual continuity and structural strength while enabling flexible reconfiguration.

NEODIKO’s Qidu collection offers a contemporary translation of Eastern aesthetics. Rather than relying on ornamental references, the brand interprets philosophical ideas of “emptiness” and “integration” through restrained proportions and warm materiality, allowing cultural depth to emerge through touch and form.

Pablo Now’s Shunde Dragon draws inspiration from dragon boat racing – transforming the motion of cutting through water and the rhythm of multicoloured flags into geometric furniture structures. The studio incorporates original oars from a 1980s dragon boat in Shunde, embedding local memory directly into the design.

Solid-wood specialist Qianjin Meet brings a different perspective. Its Red Dot Award-winning Subdued Fragrance coat stand translates the form of plum blossoms into structural nodes that resemble natural growth patterns. Finished in fresh green tones and crafted using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery alongside automotive-grade metallic coatings, the piece blends Eastern sensibility with contemporary production techniques to achieve a quietly enduring presence.

Among the leading original Chinese brands, HC28 maison demonstrates how far domestic design capabilities have evolved. Centred on a “full-scene lifestyle” approach, the brand dissolves boundaries between loose furniture and bespoke systems. At CIFF Shanghai 2025, HC28 maison presented collaborations with Ma Yansong, Yabu Pushelberg, Marcel Wanders and Pearson Lloyd – weaving Eastern restraint with Western experimentalism into a distinctly global expression.

The awakening of contemporary Chinese design signals a decisive transition: China is no longer merely part of the global supply chain, but is emerging as a creative force and aesthetic reference point within today’s design landscape.

This collective shift – from manufacturing to creation – will be most vividly articulated at CIFF Guangzhou’s Contemporary Design Exhibition. This March, visitors will see how Chinese design is stepping forward with renewed confidence, reshaping the global furniture conversation through its own cultural voice and creative agency.