Huo is enlightened more by the aesthetic ideas behind age-old handicraft than the techniques. He experiments with 3D printing to produce several containers in which he reproduces the pattern he found in daily pottery items of the Dai ethnic group. His designs, which are also on display at the exhibition, transfer the refined beauty of Dai pottery to urban life.

Huo studies the handicrafts of the Dai people when traveling to their villages in Yunnan province. He says today's designs can find nutrition from Dai craft, which is "close to the nature of materials, the core of beauty and the essence of life".

Some designers on show have upgraded their individual interest in craft to the level of public benefit.

The designers group of Zhang Lei from China, Jovana Zhang from Serbia and Christoph John from Germany established a nonprofit called Rong Design Library in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in 2015. There they are building a database of traditional materials and handicrafts, based on their research across the country since 2009. They also operate a studio called Pinwu.

Zhang Lei says they hope to share their findings of Chinese craft with not just more designers at home and abroad but also people who visit their nonprofit. The research will help build connections with workshops that preserve such craft skills in different provinces, he adds.

Their showroom at the exhibition, with their designs and collection of craft objects, provides a sample of what they've been working on in Hangzhou.

Chan says no matter how powerful social media become, people still like to have a naked-eye view and a tangible touch of different materials.

"The brilliance about craft is that although it doesn't actually talk, still it 'speaks' with different people in different ways of communication."

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn