The 2024 World Industrial Design Conference is scheduled to take place in Yantai from Sept 20 to 25, for its fifth consecutive installment. [Photo/VCG]

The 2024 World Industrial Design Conference is poised to make its return to Yantai, East China's Shandong province, from Sept 20 to 25, for its fifth consecutive installment.

With participants from design organizations, institutions, enterprises, and schools representing 61 countries and regions worldwide, the World Industrial Design Conference is a top international event for design innovation.

Past editions have boasted a total exhibition area exceeding 120,000 square meters and featured cutting-edge design achievements from 3,089 domestic and international enterprises, drawing over 500,000 visitors. It is the largest industrial design gathering in the world in terms of participant diversity, attendance numbers, and exhibition scale.

This year's conference will address pertinent topics such as blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, the industrial internet, urban revitalization, and sustainable design. The agenda includes a variety of activities, including press releases, roundtable discussions, high-level dialogues, and specialized networking sessions, facilitating interactions among scientists, entrepreneurs, and designers and helping them explore opportunities and confront challenges.

Additionally, the event will showcase and exchange pioneering new designs, technologies, materials, products, and processes by integrating outstanding design accomplishments from leading manufacturing enterprises, design institutions, and universities worldwide.

In recent years, Yantai has demonstrated steadfast commitment to high-quality industrial development, leveraging its diverse industrial sectors, comprehensive support systems, and unique industrial strengths to establish itself as a global design hub. The city has developed key facilities such as the Chinese-German Center for Industrial Design and landmark spaces like the Yantai International Design Town and the World Design Park and secured its status as one of the first national-level demonstration cities for service-oriented manufacturing with a focus on industrial design.