2026 Wenzhou International Design Biennial Opens, Pairing AIGC Technology With Urban Innovation and Cultural Heritage

Wenzhou, China, November 6, 2026 -- The sixth Wenzhou International Design Biennial opened Friday at the Wenzhou Science and Technology Museum, running through Dec. 5. Co-hosted by Zhejiang College of Security Technology (ZJCST) and the Wenzhou Association for Science and Technology, the biennial centers on the theme Technology Secures People’s Life, Intelligence Creates a Beautiful City, underscoring the deep integration of AI technology with the entire design industry chain and cross-sector innovation among design, culture, technology, fashion and urban development.

Since the global call for entries opened, the biennial has received more than 5,000 submissions from designers, creative studios, academic institutions and enterprises worldwide. After evaluation by an international panel of design experts, 247 works were shortlisted for final review.

Launched in 2016, the Wenzhou International Design Biennial has established itself as a cross-border design platform linking global creativity with local industrial strength and cultural depth. This edition frames its work around the idea that design empowers the future of cities and innovation rejuvenates the city of mountains and seas, exploring how design can support high-quality industrial development under AI-enabled conditions.

EXHIBITION PROGRAM RUNS THROUGH DEC. 5

During the one-month exhibition, organizers will hold the Asian AIGC Art and Design Applied Education Alliance conference, along with two design salons on Nov. 7 at the Wenzhou People’s Great Hall: Technology Reshapes Design Development in the AIGC Era and Design Empowers Urban Cultural Enhancement in the AIGC Era. Design educators and industry figures from China and abroad are scheduled to discuss how AI can be applied to design practice and urban cultural development.

The biennial also partners with the Asian AIGC Art and Design Applied Education Alliance and Wujie AI, a Chinese generative-AI creation platform, on a joint AI video competition.

SIX INTERNATIONAL DESIGN FIGURES TO DELIVER KEYNOTES

Keynote speakers scheduled for the Nov. 7 salons include:

• Jiang Chen, former dean of the School of Industrial Design at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and vice chairman of the Ministry of Education Advisory Committee on Industrial Design Teaching;
• Wei Ding, professor at the School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; director of the Future Design Research Institute at the Shanghai Tsinghua International Innovation Center; and founder of Tumao Design;
• Jing Zheng, Party secretary and professor at the School of Sculpture and Public Art, China Academy of Art, and founder of the Muguang (Pastoral Light) Project;
• Shuichi Misono, former head of the design department at Toyota Motor Corp. and a senior Japanese design practitioner;
• Paul Priestman, founder of the British design consultancy Priestman Goode; and
• Simon Collins, former dean of Parsons School of Design in the United States.

SPECIAL TRACK SEEKS NEW LIFE FOR UNESCO-LISTED WOODEN MOVABLE TYPE

Under the “Character Creation for All: Wood Movable Type Public Innovation Program,” the biennial commissioned a special design track from the Publicity Department of the Rui’an Municipal Committee and the Rui’an Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau to support wooden movable-type printing, a practice inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2010.

Wooden movable-type printing carries the craft knowledge of Chinese civilization but faces a gap in transmission in modern times, organizers said. The track, built on “public participation, cross-disciplinary integration and dynamic transmission,” invites designers worldwide to propose cultural and creative products built around the craft, moving it from static preservation toward living, ongoing inheritance.

By using competitions, exhibitions and academic lectures, the biennial explores the future of contemporary design and talent development, organizers said. It highlights Wenzhou as a millennium-old commercial port and promotes the city’s image as a historic cultural center, a mountain-and-sea destination and a technology-driven region known as the land of Ou.

About Zhejiang College of Security Technology (ZJCST)

Zhejiang College of Security Technology (ZJCST), based in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, trains professionals in public-safety management, security technology and security engineering.

About the 2026 Wenzhou International Design Biennial

Founded in 2016, the Wenzhou International Design Biennial is a recurring international design competition and exhibition co-hosted by Zhejiang College of Security Technology and the Wenzhou Association for Science and Technology, inviting global submissions in product design, environmental art design, poster design and a special cultural and creative competition for Rui’an movable-type printing.

Contact Info:
Name: Angela Jia
Email: Send Email
Organization: Zhejiang College of Security Technology
Website: https://www.zjcst.edu.cn/

Release ID: 89208210

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