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Zhangye City Brand and Cultural Creative Design
Creating an Exclusive City Gift Collection — “Zhangye Silk Stories”
Innovation Insights
Project Background
As one of the most important cities along the ancient Silk Road, Zhangye historically held a strategic position described as “extending the arms of the state to connect with the Western Regions.”
Although located in inland northwestern China, Zhangye has an exceptionally diverse natural environment.
The city is widely known for presenting almost every major type of landform except marine landscapes, making it a distinctive destination with remarkable geographical diversity.
Innovation Value
Drawing on Zhangye’s rich landforms, long history, and regional culture, the project created the “Zhangye Silk Stories” collection of cultural and creative city gifts.
The collection presents the beauty of Zhangye’s natural scenery while communicating the city’s profound historical heritage and cultural depth.
Through contemporary product design, the project transforms Zhangye’s landscapes and Silk Road culture into recognizable cultural assets and memorable tourism gifts.
Design Strategy
City Strategy
Zhangye was an important gateway connecting ancient China with the Western Regions along the Silk Road.
The silk scarf was therefore selected as a key cultural product, reflecting Zhangye’s identity as a shining pearl on this historic trade route.
Zhangye has a highly diverse natural environment, with distinctive scenery changing throughout the four seasons.
This variety provides a rich source of regional elements that can be translated into different visual themes and cultural products.
Five representative city identities were selected to support a diverse collection of silk scarf designs with strong cultural meaning.
As Zhangye already enjoys international recognition, the project aimed to attract more domestic and overseas visitors through high-quality cultural products and support the city’s continued international development.
User Insight
The project examined users from multiple perspectives, including their needs in different scenarios, current consumption behaviors, and expectations for tourism products.
The team also evaluated market feasibility and the compatibility between each cultural theme and its visual expression.
The insights were translated into brand storytelling, visual tone, product characteristics, retail applications, and specific cultural tourism consumption scenarios.
💡 Solution
1. Expressing Zhangye’s Culture and City Identity
The cultural creative system was designed to communicate Zhangye’s local culture and present its most distinctive urban characteristics.
The complete product portfolio included the Zhangye Silk Stories collection, the Binggou Danxia collection, the Zhangye Landscape and Cultural Tourism IP collection, and a series inspired by regional traditions.
Each collection interprets a different aspect of Zhangye while maintaining a consistent city brand identity.
2. Using Silk Road Culture as the Creative Starting Point
Silk Road culture was selected as the main cultural breakthrough for the project.
The historical meaning of silk was deeply integrated into cultural products, visual storytelling, materials, patterns, and gift concepts.
This strategy created a direct connection between Zhangye’s historical position on the Silk Road and its contemporary cultural creative brand.
3. Developing Stories from Heritage and Landscapes
The creative design system drew inspiration from Zhangye’s famous historical sites, traditional stories, cultural heritage, and diverse geographical landscapes.
These elements were used as the foundation for further storytelling and product development.
By exploring the narratives behind local monuments, historical events, natural scenery, and regional culture, the project created greater possibilities for tourism IP characters, cultural merchandise, silk products, souvenirs, and future city brand applications.
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