The 2020 Beijing Design Expo is being held at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center. Designers from across the nation have brought their latest ideas to inspire Beijing visitors. 

Modern design ideas refresh various articles for everyday use, like furniture, costumes, and decorations. How to transmit the country's rich cultural heritage has been a subject much discussed among artists and craftsmen in recent years. Many believe merging ancient with modern in fashion for mass production is the best way. 

"The Chinese tiger pillow is a mascot inherited from ancient China. It has been considered a symbol of protection of its owner and was commonly used as pillows or sachets. Artist Sanmao uses it in jewelry making. Small and delicate, it's more popular nowadays," said Wu Xu, curator of the traditional products section of the Beijing Design Expo.

Drinking tea in nature might be one of the Chinese people's ideals of a perfect moment, and this has inspired artist Akuang in the creation of his space. He uses 999 embroidery frames of different sizes to connect African grass, Hainan horsetail grass, and pine needles, allowing the viewer to see the changing colors of the plants and feel the vitality of nature.

Akuang's idea is echoed by Zhao Sumin, whose company grows around 1,500 different kinds of plants. Designing small garden-like spaces is their new business direction, and turns out to be very popular.

"We hope that every individual can get access to plants in their living space, including home and office. Many people, especially in big cities like Beijing, live under various pressures nowadays. Being in a natural environment is better for our physical and psychological health," said Zhao, CEO of Beijing Fat Dragon Brilliant Beauties Garden Scape Co. LTD.

The relationship between human beings and environment is increasingly under pressure and Atelier Scale Studio's gigantic installation aims to focus on this issue. The installation is formed by more than 800 sunshine boards recycled from plastic bottles. The studio's co-founder Lin Bingxing said, "The crystal like plastic installation is built to raise people's awareness of environmental protection. Visitors are invited to create small parts of it and fill it with empty plastic bottles. The creation will be finished at the end of the expo."

As one of the major offline events of this year's Beijing Design Week, the design expo runs through September 26.