The inaugurating ceremony of the Design Capital of Guangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: gz_baiyunfabu]

The Design Capital of Guangzhou's first-phase project opened in Baiyun district on Aug 31, where it had previously been a small, dispersed, and filthy village-level industrial park. 

Construction of the 2,800-hectare project, which started planning in 2017, started in June 2019. 

It has drawn significant attention from the domestic and international design communities, and influential designers have established studios in the park, including He Jingtang, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

In addition, it has become home to a number of leading State-owned and private enterprises in the design industry that have introduced projects with an annual output value of more than 20 billion yuan ($3 billion).

Facilities such as an international exhibition center, a design training center and an achievement transformation center have been established to hold creative exhibitions and design forums.

It offers space for the growth of the designers from Hong Kong and Macao and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's design industry, with the goal of becoming a creative design capital with global influence.