Handcrafted bamboo furniture from Zhu Chan Ji is showcased at the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Exhibition during Milan Design Week 2026. [Photo/Tide News]

Milan Design Week 2026, held this April in Italy, brought together over 2,000 leading brands and hundreds of design masters from more than 160 countries.

Among the highlights was the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Exhibition at the main venue of the University of Milan, the first large-scale exhibition themed around Chinese intangible cultural heritage in the history of Milan Design Week, where the bamboo art brand Zhu Chan Ji from Anji county, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, showcased its designs.

The exhibition focused on five major items of Chinese intangible cultural heritage, with Zhu Chan Ji's designs, representing traditional Chinese handcrafted bamboo furniture, showcased alongside Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279) Guan Kiln porcelain, mortise-and-tenon joints, filigree-inlay artworks, and woodblock prints.

"Zhu Chan Ji's exquisite handcrafted bamboo furniture highlights traditional craftsmanship and innovative design," said Ruan Zhenxiao, founder of the brand and a representative inheritor of traditional Chinese handcrafted bamboo furniture craftsmanship.

A China-Italy dialogue on intangible cultural heritage was also held during the event, where traditional intangible cultural heritage served as a cultural bridge, enhancing Sino-Italian cultural exchanges.