Guangdong Industrial Design City: Profile & Achievements (English Translation)Guangdong Industrial Design City officially opened in January 2009, with a planned total investment of RMB 2.6 billion and a core starting area of nearly 70,000 m². It is a modern service industry cluster focused on industrial design. Developed under the model of “government promotion, provincial–district co-construction, and market operation,” it has been recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) as a National Industrial Design Demonstration Base, and is also a National Science and Technology Business Incubator.The park has established an integrated service outsourcing system encompassing market research, innovative design, R&D pilot production (R&D centers and pilot workshops), manufacturing, trading, exhibitions, exchanges, training, incubation, and public services. Its scope covers emerging industries such as intelligent manufacturing, smart home, life health, and medical devices.On December 9, 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Guangdong Industrial Design City and expressed the earnest expectation to gather 8,000 designers. Today, the city has surpassed that goal, with over 8,000 design and R&D personnel.Over the years, bearing in mind General Secretary Xi’s instruction, the city has actively built public service platforms for industrial design, strengthened the introduction and cultivation of high‑end design talent, continuously optimized the development environment, raised the overall level and core competitiveness of industrial design, and better enabled industrial design to serve industrial transformation and upgrading.Currently, within the planned area of Guangdong Industrial Design City, there are 8,253 design and R&D staff, with the core starting area attracting 306 domestic and international design enterprises and 2,671 designers. The park is home to 83 national high‑tech enterprises, 3 Top Ten Design Companies of China, 9 provincial industrial design centers, and has incubated more than 50 original brands. In 2024, the total service revenue of enterprises in the park reached RMB 2.602 billion (including revenues up to December 31, 2024, from resident enterprises such as Douhe, Kefan, etc.). Enterprises have cumulatively obtained 11,513 intellectual property rights, providing abundant innovative design resources for manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta and nationwide.Talent Introduction & Industry–Academia–Research PlatformsBuilding on the “Guangdong Industrial Design City Graduate Joint Training Base,” the city established the Guangdong Shunde Innovation Design Research Institute to carry out graduate joint training and applied scientific research project incubation, supplying talent and technical support for local high‑tech enterprises. The institute has co‑established graduate joint training bases with nearly 100 domestic and international universities, and has trained 4,876 postgraduates in total.Through the Guangdong Foshan Lianchuang Engineering Graduate School, a total of 391 enterprises have participated in joint training programs, with more than 100 enterprise mentors and demand for over 5,000 professionals. To date, 286 postgraduates have been trained, serving more than 100 surrounding enterprises.The D2C Practical Training Platform has conducted design project practical training and study tours with over 60 universities nationwide, receiving more than 3,000 teachers and students to gain in‑depth understanding of industrial design in the Greater Bay Area. Nearly 20 on‑site job fairs have been held in the city, and internship and practical training bases have been signed or inaugurated with around 30 universities.Clustering & Supporting ProjectsThe agglomerative development of Guangdong Industrial Design City has encouraged surrounding enterprises to build complementary facilities. Key projects completed include Shunde Industrial Design Park, Design Plaza, International Design Center, Design City Museum, Happy Life Experience Hall (for seniors), and Industrial Design Laboratory. Public service carriers such as Le Chuang Hui and Ergonomics Laboratory are already in operation. Private capital projects such as Midea Global Innovation Center, Zhengdian Hui, and Yun Creative Space have proactively clustered around the core area, gradually forming the Greater Bay Area Industrial Design Innovation City, centered on the Design City and extending to neighboring areas.Graduate Training & Research AchievementsOn the foundation of the Graduate Joint Training Base, the Guangdong Shunde Innovation Design Research Institute has developed into an entity conducting graduate training and applied research project incubation, supporting local high‑tech enterprises with talent and technology. Currently, the institute has more than 150 scientific and educational staff, has jointly trained 4,834 postgraduates with nearly 100 domestic universities, carried out 127 scientific research incubation projects, filed 264 patent applications, and was awarded by the National Engineering Education Steering Committee as the only “National Open Base for Joint Training of Professional Degree Postgraduates in Engineering”.Next Phase DevelopmentGoing forward, Guangdong Industrial Design City will continue to follow the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and directives during his inspection of Guangdong. Guided by the Provincial Party Committee’s “1310” specific deployment, the city will accelerate the establishment of mechanisms to promote high‑quality economic development, improve investment attraction mechanisms, and enhance the ability of industrial design to serve manufacturing and new industrialization.It will expedite the building of a modern industrial system, vigorously promote mutual reinforcement of industry and technology, and strive to create an industrial design innovation ecosystem featuring coordinated development of real economy, innovative design, modern finance, and talent clustering. The city will continue leveraging industrial design as the starting point of the innovation chain and the source of the value chain.Focusing on actively constructing a new development pattern, it will deeply participate in national and provincial top‑level strategies including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area development, the “Hundreds, Thousands, Tens of Thousands Project,” and “Manufacturing as the Mainstay,” continuously unleashing powerful momentum for high‑quality development. It will solidly advance co‑construction, co‑governance, and sharing, earnestly implement the general requirements of Party building in the new era, continue to leverage its role as a Party building demonstration site, foster a “Innovation & Integration” craftsman culture, and promote the integration of Party building with industrial transformation, contributing greater achievements to Guangdong’s high‑quality development.Selected Honors of Guangdong Industrial Design CityMIIT: National New‑Type Industrialization Industry Demonstration Base
Ministry of Science and Technology Torch Center: National Science and Technology Business Incubator
Ministry of Science and Technology: National Maker Space
CNIPA: National Industrial Design and Creative Industry Base
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security: National Entrepreneurship and Incubation Demonstration Base
China Industrial Design Association: China Industrial Design Demonstration Base
China Industrial Design Association: 2021 Top 100 China Design Industry (Top Ten Design Parks)
Guangdong Economic and Information Commission: Guangdong Industrial Design Center
Guangdong Productivity Promotion Center: Guangdong Industrial Design Innovation Service Demonstration Base
Guangdong Department of Culture: Guangdong Creative Design Cultural Industry Park
Guangdong Department of Commerce: Guangdong Service Outsourcing Demonstration Park
Guangdong Economic and Information Commission: Guangdong Productive Service Industry Functional Zone Demonstration Unit
Guangdong Modern Service Industry Cluster Area
Guangdong Modern Industry Top 500 Projects
Guangdong Key Project for Industrial Transformation and Upgrading Breakthrough
Guangdong Old‑Area Renovation Association: Benchmark Project (Industrial Upgrade)
Guangdong Copyright Bureau: Guangdong Copyright Prosperity Demonstration Base
Guangdong Market Supervision Bureau: Provincial Primary & Secondary School Quality Education Social Practice Base
Guangdong Industrial Tourism Cultivation Resource Database Member Unit
Foshan Association for Science and Technology: Foshan Popular Science Education Base
Foshan Intellectual Property Protection Workstation
Foshan Primary & Secondary School Study Tour Practice Education Base
Foshan Student Federation Social Practice Base
Shunde District Primary & Secondary School Study Tour Practice Education BaseAdditionally, Guangdong Industrial Design City has been included in the Industrial Design Empowerment Action Plan for Guangdong (2022–2025).