The "Explore Trend of China Chic, Create Memory of Art Toy" Dongguan art toys exhibition, held in San Francisco, the US on May 29, demonstrating Guangdong's cultural enterprises and industries in a global vision and providing opportunities for overseas audiences to closely get in touch with Chinese culture.
Over 200 China-chic art toys from Dongguan City of Guangdong province were exhibited during the event, attracting over 1000 people to visit the exhibition.
The Northern California Hanfu Association performed at the event, showcasing traditional Chinese culture such as Hanfu, the traditional attire that used to be worn by Han Chinese. At the scene, visitors tried dressing in Hanfu and went on stage to experience a show with Chinese Hanfu models.
Exquisite art toys wows visitors at Pier 39 in SF
Tim Sieben, a US resident, came to Pier 39 Fisherman's Wharf for a walk and was attracted to the exhibition. He admired the exhibits in front of the "Ten-mile Red Dowry" exhibition stand. He said that he loves these exhibits as they are exquisite, delicate, and elegant, and every detail is full of aesthetic beauty. "Like this bride's dress, with its long skirt, it's beautiful. This is a pleasant surprise for me," he added.
"I love the art toy exhibition here; it's so beautiful. Through these small toys, I have gained a deeper understanding of Chinese culture," said Jax, an influencer from San Francisco. "There are many different cultures in the San Francisco Bay Area, and people here enjoy experiencing the cultures of different ethnic groups and appreciating beautiful things. Dongguan's art toys are sure to gain popularity here," she added.
"It's a beautiful day, and there's a great crowd here as well," Scott Gentner, President and CEO of Pier 39 in San Francisco, told GDToday that they are looking for new ideas to come to Pier 39 and would love to have more Chinese art toys exhibited for tourists in the future. He added that art toy companies are welcome to open a store here in San Francisco.
Cooperation chance with art toy manufacturers dug
Jared Foster, Founder and CEO of Solana Solar in the US, praised the exhibition when he saw the art toys from Dongguan. He has been working with a Shenzhen company to develop and sell smart headphones, and he trusts in the manufacturing quality of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Upon learning that Dongguan is China's largest production and export base for art toys, he felt excited and took away several promotional brochures of Dongguan, hoping to learn more information and recommend them to American investors to explore cooperation projects in the field of art toys.
Wendy Du, Founder of the Asian Cultural Exchange Association, told GDToday that she is proud of Chinese enterprise going global, which opens doors for people from different countries to explore the new trend of China chic, fall in love with it, and spread the word in their communities. "There are many ways to cooperate, for example, creative design, marketing, distribution... There will be a huge demand for China Chic art toys, and we are the bridge to help Chinese art toys expand into overseas markets," said Du.
"We met potential clients at the event and have scheduled an appointment to visit a retail store in Silicon Valley tomorrow," said a staff member of ToyCity, one of the exhibitors. He told GDToday that his potential client is interested in expanding the art toy market in San Francisco.
Dongguan boasts completed art toys industrial system
Dongguan, located in Guangdong Province, is home to over 4,000 toy manufacturing companies and nearly 1,500 upstream and downstream supporting businesses. A quarter of the world's anime merchandise is produced in Dongguan, and around 85% of China's art toys come from this city.
Dongguan is China's largest toy export base, with designer toys being shipped to more than 120 countries and regions, including Europe, the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
By 2022, Dongguan had 87 major companies involved in art toy production, with a total industrial output value reaching 16.657 billion RMB. Due to its distinctive cluster of art toy industries and strong regional competitiveness, Dongguan has earned the title of the first Capital of Art Toys in China.
The event is jointly hosted by the Dongguan Publication Department and the Dongguan Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism, and Sports, organized by GDToday and the Dongguan Branch of Nanfang Media Group, with support from the Asian Cultural Exchange Association.
Related link:
Dongguan's art toys show to be held in San Francisco, U.S. on May 29th
