The much awaited 2016 edition of Beijing Design Week started on 23 September, to liven up the Chinese capital for as many as 15 days, as the festival is ending on October 7. Since 2011, BJDW has been the place where design and modernity meet in China, thanks to a rich program that includes many different happenings scattered all over the city. Professionals and design lovers can meet in Beijing to live a unique experience that this year goes by the name of Design Stories In and Around, to emphasize the global side of design that links different countries and cultures all together.

Among the many events of the festival, Dashilar Pilots, near Tiananmen Square, introducing responsive design solutions for the area's complex built environment and unique social ecosystem, focusing on the cultural rediscovery of artisanal practices historically found therein and visions for its communal spaces. This year also marks the debut of the Beijing Media Art Biennale, under the very contemporary theme Ethics of Technology. Further stressing the effective side of Beijing Design Week, the second edition of Baitasi Remade, aimed at creating an unprecedented venture that will see year-long actions unfold as part of a soft strategy of urban and communal renewal taking design as a driver of its cultural and urban revival. To prove the international character of the festival there is also the 2016 Guest City Program, with an expansive series of exhibitions and interventions organized by this year's partnered city, Seoul. These are just a few examples of what is going on in Beijing in these days, as BJDW is undoubtedly becoming one of the leading design festival of the whole continent.

INFO: www.bjdw.org/en

PHOTO COURTESY: BJDW