The award ceremony for the 3rd China Design Awards Contest is held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, on Sept 25.[Photo/taiwan.cn]

An award ceremony for the 3rd China Design Awards Contest was held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, on Sept 25, according to local media reports.

This year's contest received a total of 9,881 entries from over 500 universities, organizations, and design companies from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and foreign countries such as Germany, Italy, Serbia, and South Korea. Among them, 1,046 entries were from Taiwan, an increase of 118.83 percent over the previous edition.

A set of portable calligraphy tools developed by two Taiwan designers won the gold award in the product category, earning 200,000 yuan ($28,985.5) in prize money.

"Many of the entries are based on a common understanding of traditional Chinese culture," said Lu Xiaobo, dean of the college of fine arts at Tsinghua University and deputy president of the China Artists Association. Liu has served as a judge for the China Design Awards Contest for the past three years. 

Chen Zhengzong, honorary president of the Taiwan Graphic Design Association, said that young designers participating in the competition from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have infused cultural innovation, humanistic care, environmental awareness, and more into their works, which is quite impressive.

He expressed hope that the design industries in both the mainland and Taiwan will continue to forge ahead together.

The contest, which has been held three times, is meant to increase exchange between design talent from the mainland and Taiwan and facilitate the growth of the design sector in both places.

In December 2017, Zhenhai district, Ningbo was designated as the permanent host venue for the event.