The Italian Design Day, an event initiated by Italian ministries of foreign affairs and international cooperation, and cultural heritage and activities, in collaboration with the country's design institutions, is held simultaneously every year in over 100 cities worldwide, to promote the Italian design around the globe.

Themed Design and Future Cities, this year's edition of the event is aimed to explore the connection between design and cities, and discuss, in depth, the innovative solutions to sustainable development.

At the opening ceremony of the event on the day, Mr. Edoardo Tresoldi, an Italian artist and designer who was included in Forbes magazine's 30 most influential European artists under 30 in 2017, and one of this year's ambassadors of Italian Design, was present at and addressed the Chengdu event as a keynote speaker.

"Though I don't know much about Chengdu, I have found that it is a city of creativity and poetry after a short stay here. It reflects the traditional oriental aesthetics well in some aspects," said Mr. Tresoldi. He thinks that the city, while actively integrating into the world, maintains its excellent traditional culture, which can be seen from its ubiquitous old buildings and structures.

When talking about his suggestion for Chengdu to develop its cultural and creative industry, Mr. Tresoldi, using Italy, his home country, as an example, said that Italian professionals are adept at creating works combining traditional elements and modern forms, which he thinks could be used as a reference for Chengdu. Meanwhile, Mr. Tresoldi expressed his interest in traditional oriental aesthetics, hoping to incorporate Chinese cultural elements into his creation in the future.