Top design talents gather in Beijing

The 2014 International Beijing Design Week has kicked off at the China Millennium Monument on Friday.

Talented designers from all over the world are gathering in Beijing. The 2014 International Beijing Design Week has kicked off at the China Millennium Monument on Friday. The event aims to build a platform for exchange between designers across borders, empower talent and introduce the flair of design to the wider population.

A celebration of creativity and ingenuity. A host of designers walk the blue carpet, ready to leave their mark on design week. This year's guest of honor is Barcelona, and its representatives will present a series of exhibitions in Beijing to introduce the design inspirations of the Spanish city.

One of which is their magic horse, which parades down the carpet at the ceremony. Made from eco-friendly materials, it's based on the Spanish mythology of a horse that brings hope and conquers the powers of darkness.

The Chief Architect of Barcelona, Vincente Guallart, is among the visitors.

The opening ceremony also hands out the 2014 Classic design award. The prize goes to the restoration project of the Grand Canal of China, the longest artificial river in the world.

The design exhibition named "Smart City" also takes place in the China Millennium Monument. The Smart City section hopes to effectively connect governments, enterprises, research institutes and the public to build more efficient and eco-friendly cities. Companies from around the world are offering ideas to make Beijing a more "livable and creative city."

"We provide health solutions for city dwellers. We can measure their blood pressure, blood sugar level and even their brain waves. If there's any problem we can invite them to use there brain waves to control robots to look further into the problem and help them recover," Sha Zhenzhong, engineer of Zebone Corporation, said.

Another highlight of the show is this device made by students from Tsinghua University. Students are busy with their school work and have no time to water their plants, so luckily this device on wheels will take the plant to where there's light. But accidents do happen.

These are just a tiny fraction of the many creative ideas embodied in the designs here. The design week features over 300 exhibitions across Beijing and runs until next Friday. So take a look for yourself before it's too late.