Design for New China: The History of Design in the Early Years of the Peoples Republic of China”is shown at the China Design Museum through November 15. 

The exhibition has about  500 pieces, including manuscripts, models and archives,  as well as paintings on loan from 40 art organizations, universities, institutes and  museums. Together these show the development of  design and aesthetics during  the early years after the New China was founded. At the exhibition, visitors could view many“firsts”from the 1950s and 1960s,  for instance, the first set of national gifts, the manuscripts of the Monument  to the People’s Heroes, the  national flag and emblem  and the products of early  industrialization and structures built in that era. 

Organizers hope to present the diversity of design in New China and the vitality of China’s modernization process and art development  half a century ago. The exhibits are divided into five  sections, namely national  and people’s image, industrialization, city and urban  space, social life and daily  perception and designing education and improvement. 

When Chinese artists were designing national gifts in the 1950s, Chang Shana, a renowned Dunhuang artist,  made a set of cloisonné peace dove plates integrating patterns from Dunhuang frescos  and daily chinaware. 

Cloisonné is a form of  decorative enamelwork  where intricate designs  created with copper, silver  or fine gold wires on metal  vessels are either filled with  powdered, colored enamel  or painted on with enamel  before being fired in a kiln. Chang lived in Dunhuang  with her father for over 10  years. As a professional researching Dunhuang culture,  she combined traditional heritage with modernity and  blended arts with utility. Visitors can view rare  manuscripts from Tsinghua University, which record the  original design of the Monument to the People’s Heroes  in Beijing’s Tian’anmen  Square. 

The architect Liang Sicheng designed the 10-story  obelisk, with some elements  designed by his wife Lin  Huiyin. It was built to commemorate the martyrs in  wars during the 19th and  20th centuries. Today, it symbolizes the Chinese people’s bravery and persistence in wartime. Ten architectural models  of pre-eminent buildings  show how Chinese architects  explored their own styles and learned from Western  experience in the 1950s. Wenyuan Building at  Tongji University, designed  by Huang Yulin and Ha Xiongwen, features Bauhaus Dessau elements and pragmaticism. The cube-like  combination shapes are  flexibly arranged to form  different functional areas.  In history, this building is  considered the practice of  modernism in the Chinese  architectural realm. Shunde People’s Grand Hall  is the largest span concrete  thin-shell-structure building in New China. Due to  the lack of scarce construction materials, the Chinese designers Luo Mingyu and  Kuang Zhengwen used fir and bamboo to complete the  scaffolding and formwork, a  pioneering trial in modern  China. 

When New China was  founded, the Chinese characters were printed in unfixed  forms, which impacted the  printing quality and the promotion of literacy. In 1959,  the Shanghai Institute of  Printing Technology established an office for movable  type font design. The fonts of  Song II and Hei II have made great contributions to the popularization of simplified characters and the standardization of written language.

In the early years of the  People’s Republic of China,  the women’s movement entered a new stage, which triggered a trend of neutralization of women’s wear. The Lenin coat, a popular men’s garment at first, evolved into a style for both men and women from the 1950s and 1960s. It symbolized gender  equality in New China.

The China Design Museum opened in 2018 inside the  Xiangshan campus of the  China Academy of Art in  Hangzhou. The museum  was built and founded at a  time when China started to  realize the significance of  design and more Chinese  manufacturers were seeking an upgrade from “Made  in China”to“Created in  China.”Thus far, it has collected thousands of pieces of Bauhaus and Bauhaus-related  modern design, several  menswear items by Italian  clothing designer Massimo  Osti and over 100 pieces of  Western modern design.

How to get there: 

Tickets can be conveniently purchased  through the 12306 app  or at train stations. Upon  arriving at Hangzhou,  board Line 6 at Hangzhou East Railway Station and alight at Xiangshan Campus Station.