On June 12, the award ceremony for the “Time-Honored Brands · New National Trend” Innovation Design Special Competition, part of the 20th China Creative Challenges Contest, was held at Yuanjiexin Space in Xuhui District, Shanghai. More than 400 guests attended the event, including leaders from East China University of Science and Technology, officials from relevant departments in Xuhui District, representatives from industry associations such as the Shanghai Time-Honored Brands Association, heads of time-honored enterprises, experts and scholars from universities in China and abroad, as well as faculty and student representatives.
Chai Hua, a member of the Party Standing Committee of East China University of Science and Technology and Minister of the Publicity Department, congratulated the successful staging of the competition and the award-winning participants in his remarks, and expressed gratitude to all sectors of society that have long cared for and supported the event. He noted that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions on the inheritance of China’s fine traditional culture and the innovative development of time-honored brands have pointed to a clear path for empowering traditional brands through creativity and revitalizing local commercial and cultural heritage. These guiding spirits also call on universities to take up the era’s mission of carrying forward cultural inheritance and cultivating innovative talent.
Wang Qin, Chairwoman of Shanghai Maxam Daily Chemical Co., Ltd., spoke as a representative of a time-honored brand enterprise. She said that the competition has built an efficient bridge for aligning “enterprise-led questions with youth-led solutions,” and has fostered a positive ecosystem of university–enterprise collaboration and mutual empowerment. It gives young people’s bold and imaginative ideas a real industrial platform for implementation, making true two-way wins possible in both brand upgrading and talent development.
Professor Ni Haijun, Director of the Competition Organizing Committee, gave a detailed introduction to this year’s event. The competition saw a breakthrough in scale this year, covering 640 universities across China and 2 overseas universities, with a total of 11,596 participants and 7,646 valid submissions. All three figures — university coverage, number of participants, and total number of entries — set new records for the competition. Four themed tracks were created around Maxam, Harris, Shanghai Coffee and Guqiao. After several rounds of professional review, 183 outstanding entries advanced to the final. Following further refinement in the training camp and a comprehensive on-site defense round, the competition ultimately awarded 30 first prizes, 60 second prizes, and 93 third prizes, along with Outstanding Mentor Awards.
Wang Shan, Party Secretary of the School of Art Design and Media at East China University of Science and Technology, and Sun Zhongming, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Time-Honored Brands Association, together with other leaders and guests, presented certificates of honor in batches to the winning participants from each track and to winners of the Outstanding Mentor Awards.
A signing ceremony for university–enterprise creative collaboration was also held during the event. Wang Qin, Chairwoman of Shanghai Maxam Daily Chemical Co., Ltd.; Chen Yifeng, General Manager of Harbin Food Factory; Gong Min, Chairwoman of Guanshengyuan Commercial Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; and Dong Luping, Chairwoman of Shanghai Shenjiu Co., Ltd., signed on site with representatives of the first-prize-winning young designers. The ceremony helped complete the loop from youth design achievements to market application, ing the transition of outstanding ideas from the competition stage to the production line and creating a win-win situation for both the growth of young designers and the innovative development of time-honored brands.
At the close of the event, 10 guests jointly launched the call-for-entries ceremony for the 21st China Creative Challenges Contest “Time-Honored Brands · New National Trend” Innovation Design Special Competition, symbolizing the launch of a new edition of the competition and a fresh new journey ahead.
This competition was hosted by the Organizing Committee of the China Creative Challenges Contest, undertaken by East China University of Science and Technology, and organized by the School of Art Design and Media. Shanghai Maxam Daily Chemical served as the title sponsor, while Harbin Food Factory, Guanshengyuan and Shanghai Shenjiu each launched their own branded competition tracks. During the final stage, Hongmei Road Subdistrict in Xuhui District provided full venue support and logistical services throughout. Over the past four years, the competition has focused on creative design as its core medium, building a broad platform for dialogue and exchange between time-honored brands and young talent. It stands as a vivid example of collaborative efforts by universities, local governments, enterprises, and public institutions to cultivate creative talent and revitalize local time-honored brands.
