A specialized fair opened in downtown Shanghai on Friday, aiming at breathing new life into China's time-honored brands and bolstering their appeal among modern consumers.
The event serves as a key platform to showcase the heritage of these iconic labels by integrating traditional craftsmanship with contemporary market trends.
A total of 44 quality time-honored brands gathered at the fair showcasing their classic products and innovated versions.
"We saw many new products [of the time-honored brands]. They are improved versions," said Chang, a local resident.
Time-honored brands are the pacesetters of Chinese industrial and commercial development. They embody a mix of fine Chinese cultural traditions, the nostalgia of everyday life, and rich economic and cultural values, making them popular among consumers.
In recent years, Shanghai has stepped up its efforts to nurture and support these brands, encouraging them to preserve their heritage while driving growth through innovation, thereby helping to continuously stimulate consumer demand.
Some brands maintain an annual product refresh rate of around 30 percent and have launched numerous hit products through cross-industry collaborations and business model innovations.
"Young designers make up a large proportion of our team. We also do collaborations with popular IP characters, using modern aesthetics to reinterpret traditional crafts in our designs," said Cao Jingyi, a jewelry designer from a Chinese time-honored brand.
Shanghai launches specialized fair for time-honored brands to spur consumption
China's smart glasses market recorded strong performance in 2025 with total shipment surging 87.1 percent to 2.46 million, and is expected to continue the momentum as new products are released in quick succession.
In an eyewear store in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, many customers were seen trying on and purchasing smart glasses.
"My first impression was how incredibly light it is. When I go cycling at night, I can use its navigation function," said a customer.
"I work in the film and television industry, so the picture quality and color accuracy are important for me. The official price is around 4,200 (about 614 U.S. dollars) to 4,300 yuan, but with the national subsidy, it drops to about 3,800 yuan, which I find quite acceptable," said another customer.
A store manager said the sales have grown noticeably since November 2025, with a further surge following the recent launches of new products.
"Without a prescription, it takes about one week to receive the glasses. For custom pairs with prescriptions, it takes around 25 days. In the first two weeks of April, our sales have already nearly doubled compared to the entire month of March," said a store manager.
Industry insiders attributed the rapid growth in smart glasses sales to multiple factors, including the practical application of AI large models in terminal devices, the successive release of new products, and supportive national consumption subsidy policies.
Their functionality has evolved beyond basic voice interaction, photography, and navigation, which is deeply integrating AI capabilities and expanding into diverse scenarios such as office, travel, and smart home.
From January to February 2026, domestic shipments of smart glasses totaled 424,000 units, up 36.2 percent year on year, while online retail sales surged 183.5 percent, according to data from China's Ministry of Commerce.
Smart glasses market booms in China amid rapid product iterations
