The Chinese national team to the upcoming Paris Olympics will travel with suitcases inspired by the iconic Terracotta Warriors, designed by local creators.
The luggage, developed over a year and a half, is designed to be both durable and lightweight, incorporating traditional Chinese cultural symbols.
"When we were designing, we wanted to draw inspiration and ideas from our splendid Chinese civilization, from our world cultural heritage. We wanted to choose some element that would bring good luck and protection to our athletes as they head to Paris. We finally decided that armor-like design was what we were looking for," said Bai Jianfeng, the manufacturer's general manager.
When considering armor, designers were immediately inspired by the imposing and majestic Terracotta Warriors.
Discovered in 1974 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, the Terracotta Army was built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-207 B.C.).
With the concept established, the designer crafted a textural pattern on the luggage to resemble the scale armor of the Terracotta Warriors and added an ornamental knot tie similar to those seen on the general's statues at the top.
The luggage features golden-colored wheels at the bottom, inspired by the bronze chariot wheels found in Emperor Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. The zipper pulls have been designed to evoke the shape of ancient Chinese shields. Each piece features a metal plate embedded with the Chinese flag.
"We chose this design because we view our national sports delegation as heroes. We hope they will advance courageously and return with glory," Bai said.
Chinese athletes to sport suitcases inspired by Terracotta Warriors in Paris
Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit resonated with the common aspiration of more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people and demonstrated China's firm will of moving forward hand-in-hand with Africa along the path of development, revitalization and modernization, several participants at the event have said.
In his speech on Thursday, Xi proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
He also announced that the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan (about 50.8 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to Africa over the next three years.
"Everyone was happy to hear those news, so everyone was clapping. So now we are going to a higher level of relations between China and Africa," said Hamidou, a counselor at the Embassy of Comoros in Beijing.
"China understands Africa's urgent desire to advance modernization. We can learn a lot from China's development," said Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.
Xi also suggested 10 partnership actions for modernization that China will take together with Africa in the next three years to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernization in the Global South.
"President Xi, through his long vision of the needs of countries and his interest in supporting development, has offered this as a real vehicle to promote exports of Africa to China, which is a huge market," said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP).
"As he told this morning, we have many projects in digitalization, in capacity building, in health centers, support for health, for infrastructure, in the framework of the Belt and [Road]. And we think that we are very satisfied with this partnership. This is a win-win partnership," said Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, the 2024 FOCAC summit brought together leaders from China and over 50 African countries, who highlighted the common pursuit of China and African countries in realizing modernization.
During the summit, both sides unanimously adopted two important documents -- a declaration on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and an action plan of the FOCAC for the next three years.
Xi's speech at FOCAC summit resonates with people's common aspiration: participants
