The Big Lotus stadium, the main event for the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. [Photo provided to ehangzhou.gov.cn]

Hangzhou — capital of East China's Zhejiang province — has been shortlisted alongside Busan in South Korea as a candidate city for World Design Capital 2028, the Canada-headquartered World Design Organization announced in early July.

If selected by the WDO, Hangzhou would become the 11th city globally — and one of a select few in Asia — to earn the title.

Previous winners include Turin, Seoul, Helsinki and Valencia — all recognized for using design to drive urban innovation and development. The WDO, a global NGO founded in 1957, oversees the designation.

Hangzhou's nomination reflects its growing strength in design across multiple sectors. For example, it hosts 21 national industrial design centers — the most in China — and is a rising hub for AI and robotics.

Landmark projects like the Hangzhou Gate and the Big Lotus stadium highlight its architectural ambitions. With over 2,200 textile and fashion companies, the city is known as the birthplace of Hang-style women's fashion and as the City of Silk.

As home to the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival, it has become a creative powerhouse, even producing China's first AAA blockbuster video game, Black Myth: Wukong.

Winning the title would further enhance Hangzhou's global image, competitiveness and cultural influence — marking another step in its evolution as a world-class design city.

China's first AAA video game, Black Myth: Wukong, is a creation of Hangzhou-based company Game Science. [Photo/IC]