Gold Jewelry Design · 2025
Dunhuang Jewelry
by Zhiyan Huang
- A' Design Award 2025 Gold Winner in Jewelry Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Liang Xing
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 132,825
- Verification code B459746B02 · Verify this award
About Dunhuang Jewelry
Liang Xing uses the industry' s cutting edge digital technologies, like jewelry modeling and high-precision 3D printing. The Dunhuang series are working on now is based on Cave 320 Mogao Grottoes. The design team of Liang Xing expresses the ribbon on the flying asparas of Dunhuang in a way that captures the dynamic beauty of the ribbon and the charm of Dunhuang art with refined curves. The craftsmanship of jewelry reflects the fusion of digital enablement and intangible cultural heritage skills.
Dunhuang Jewelry by Zhiyan Huang emerges from a profound dialogue between ancient Silk Road heritage and contemporary jewelry design, translating the flowing calligraphic lines and celestial imagery found in historic cave paintings into wearable sculptural forms of remarkable sophistication. The collection demonstrates extraordinary technical accomplishment in its manipulation of precious metal, with each piece exhibiting the distinctive brushed gold surface treatment that suggests both the weathered patina of archaeological treasures and the refined finish of modern luxury craftsmanship. The necklace's sweeping catenary construction, comprising multiple parallel bands that curve in harmonious undulation, evokes the billowing celestial scarves of flying apsaras depicted in ancient murals, transforming spiritual iconography into an elegant statement piece anchored by a luminous Tahitian pearl. The accompanying earrings elaborate this celestial vocabulary through their spiral orbital configurations, golden wire paths that cradle matching pearls like planets suspended in cosmic rings, creating visual metaphors for the heavenly bodies that guided Silk Road travelers across vast desert expanses. The designer appears to engage thoughtfully with questions of cultural continuity and contemporary relevance, offering adornment that honors artistic traditions spanning millennia while speaking fluently in the visual language of current luxury aesthetics. The chromatic restraint of the palette, limiting itself to warm gold and cool gray-silver pearl tones, demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how material purity can amplify design impact. One might observe how the organic geometry of each piece, avoiding rigid symmetry in favor of flowing asymmetrical balance, suggests natural forms like wind-sculpted dunes or water-carved stone. The viewer is invited to contemplate how jewelry functions as cultural vessel, carrying forward aesthetic wisdom while remaining vitally present and wearable.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Liang Xing brand combines traditional Chinese culture with contemporary design concepts. The current Dunhuang collection draws inspiration from Chinese filigree inlay craftsmanship and incorporates the image of flying asparas from Cave 320 of the Mogao Caves in its jewelry design. In the jewelry-making process, Liang Xing combines digital technology with intangible cultural heritage. The team employs high-precision 3D modeling alongside traditional manual filigree inlay techniques to craft the shapes and patterns of their jewelry. Unlike many current jewelry brands, Liang Xing approaches each design with an artistic and archaeological mindset. This commitment promotes Chinese art, intangible heritage, and contemporary Chinese design on a global stage.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Material: silver with gold and sea pearls. Size: Ribbon Earrings: 30 mm x 25 mm x 65 mm; Buddha Flower Earrings: 20 mm x 20 mm x 20 mm; Bracelet: 70 mm x 95 mm x 15 mm; Ring: 20 mm x 20 mm x 10 mm;
- Tags
- Implicit, Elegant, Historic, Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), Tang Dynasty of China, Buddhism and Visual Culture in China.
- Production Technology
- The overall shape of the jewelry uses jewelry-level 3D printing and modeling techniques. The jewelry pattern incorporates one of China's intangible cultural heritages, the eight masterpieces of Beijing, the filigree inlay art.
- Design Challenge
- The art of filigree inlay in China was primarily utilized on flat surfaces. In the Dunhuang collection, the jewelry shapes are all three-dimensional, making it challenging to incorporate filigree inlay patterns into the designs. After conducting three-dimensional testing, Liang Xing integrated the filigree pattern into the three-dimensional surfaces of the jewelry to enhance its overall design. All jewelry in Liangxing is crafted with full three-dimensional construction and is guaranteed to look appealing from any angle.
- Project Duration
- The project started in December 2023 in Beijing and finished in October 2024 in Beijing. The Dunhuang Collection was shown in Beijing Fashion Week in September 2024. The Dunhuang collection was displayed at the Diplomatic Shop in February 2025 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
- Operation Flow
- Liang Xing believes that jewelry not only decorates the body but also serves as a vehicle to evoke cultural memories. The design language of the Dunhuang series is inspired by the Buddhist visual culture of China's Tang Dynasty. Liang Xing emphasizes a verifiable visual expression, and while offering jewelry products, we also share a rich history that spans centuries.
- Research
- The design aesthetic logic of the Liangxing has three keywords: implicit, elegant, and historic. The brand wishes to combine China's intangible cultural heritage with Chinese history. The Dunhuang series Liang Xing is working on now is based on Cave 320 Mogao Grottoes. Cave 320 is one of the representative caves of the Prime Tang Dynasty, and it’s got a lot of classic images of flying apsaras. Take the “Black Flying Apsaras” (Flying Apsaras Scattering Flowers) on the south wall, for example. It has been described by the Dunhuang Academy as “the most beautiful flying asparas in Dunhuang murals”. The design team of Liang Xing expresses the ribbon on the flying asparas of Dunhuang in a way that captures the dynamic beauty of the ribbon and the charm of Dunhuang art with refined curves. Liang Xing hopes to bring Chinese culture and aesthetics to the world in the language of contemporary design.
- Inspiration
- The Dunhuang jewelry collection by Liang Xing translates the visual elements of the Dunhuang Mogao Cave 217 and Cave 320, China, into wearable jewelry. It was inspired by the ribbons and flying figures in Tang Dynasty murals in Dunhuang, China.
- Image Credits
- Copyright, Liangxing (两行), 2024.
Photographer, Fei Liu, Dunhuang, 2024.
Sound (Video), 声无哀乐, "飞升" , 2020. - Patents
- Liangxing Bracelet Patent No. 202430154504.3. Zhiyan Huang, China.
Liangxing Ribbon Earrings Patent No. 202430154452.x. Zhiyan Huang, China.
Liangxing Ring Patent No. 202430154509.6. Zhiyan Huang, China.
Colors of Dunhuang Jewelry
Get Dunhuang Jewelry
Contemporary Chinese Heritage Jewelry
We create exquisite jewelry that bridges ancient Chinese artistry with modern design. Our collections feature traditional filigree inlay techniques combined with innovative 3D craftsmanship, bringing the beauty of China's intangible cultural heritage to contemporary wearers worldwide.
G0E1 ShopDesign Interview about Dunhuang Jewelry
The Dunhuang series is a combination of cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage techniques. The design of the work is inspired by Cave 320 of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang.
The Dunhuang series mainly presents the image of the most famous flying apsaras in Cave 320 of Mogao Grottoes, which is known as the most beautiful “Black Flying Apsaras."
A' Design's Gold Award is the first major international competition award for the Liang Xing brand. This is a great start for our brand and is far-reaching for brand promotion.
The design conceptualization took one month, and it took nearly six months from conceptualization to product implementation.
In China's cultural product market, there are not many works that can capture both visual culture and design. We want to make successful products that transform cultural heritage.
The Dunhuang series is produced by ourselves.
We were curious about 3D printed jewelry, and we wondered how well this new technology would integrate with traditional craftsmanship.
Not at the moment, our products are completely original.
Our target customers are people who have a need for design products as well as purchasing power.
Our designs are inspired by China's cultural heritage and ancient art objects.
Our naming strategy is straightforward, and in order to promote Chinese culture through the design of our products, we will use simple and straightforward naming methods.
We used 3D modeling and 3D printing technology.
The craftsmanship of our products has a tendency to adopt the handmade techniques of Beijing. The Dunhuang series includes a technique called filigree inlay.
The styling of the Dunhuang series was done by me and the 3D modeling of the product was done by my partner.
Technology is important in the Dunhuang collection, as the traditional production process does not allow for delicate and complex three-dimensional structures. In particular, the curves of the ribbons that restore the image of the flying apsaras can only be accomplished through 3D printing technology at this time.
The design is inspired by academic research, not data.
The combination of 3D printed modeling and traditional craftsmanship in design is a major difficulty. This is because most of the handmade techniques cannot make complex shapes in a very fast time.
We want to make the beautiful Chinese culture and handicrafts active on the world stage. The brand's original intention from the very beginning was to deliver Chinese art to the sea.
After receiving the gold A'Design award, I realized that the international design field is paying attention to Chinese culture and art. It was also the first major award I received in my career.
No more. Expect me to win another A'Design award in the future.
Grand Interview about Dunhuang Jewelry
The black Apsaras in Cave 320 of the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, are often celebrated as the most exquisite among all the murals. The original figures radiate an ethereal grace and vitality. Yet traditional depictions of Apsaras tend to emphasize the soft, fluid drape of their ribbons—an approach that doesn't fully align with our brand's aesthetic. What I seek to highlight, instead, is the ordered beauty of their flowing ribbons and the spatial presence of a hard-sculptural form. In this sense, the flying Apsara of Cave 320 serves not as an endpoint to replicate, but as a creative point of departure.
The jewelry’s patterns draw inspiration from the murals, their forms rooted in clouds and the abstract notion of Qi. By intertwining the lines of clouds and Qi, we created the “Cloud Qi” patterns—a design that bridges ancient and modern aesthetic sensibilities. Traditional Chinese filigree simply cannot achieve such intricate, interlaced detailing on the minute scale of jewelry; and even if perfectly rendered, that level of complexity would undermine the ordered beauty these pieces are meant to convey. That is why, while testing prototypes of the Cloud Qi pattern, we repeatedly pushed the limits of 3D printing precision. Today, this collection stands as the most elaborate example of 3D-printed filigree, and the finest expression of the fusion between traditional craftsmanship and modern technology.
I did, in fact, consider wrapping the jewelry’s surface in handcrafted filigree. However, the design incorporates many curved elements, making it difficult for traditional filigree techniques to achieve the desired effect. Beyond technical constraints, I also had to weigh production costs and labor hours. Given the brand’s positioning as affordable luxury jewelry, using 3D printing to replicate filigree patterns is simply the more appropriate path. I describe the brand’s aesthetic as “natural order,” with a sense of order as its core principle. What we strive to convey is a restrained, orderly beauty—and for that, digital technology proves to be the optimal solution.
The image of the black Apsaras in Mogao Cave 320 originates from the north wall mural depicting the transformation tableau of the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra (the Sutra on the Visualization of the Buddha of Infinite Life). This mural unfolds a Buddhist narrative of past-life karma and present-life redemption. Translating such a profound and complex story into jewelry is, admittedly, a formidable challenge—yet what I hope to convey through the design is a deep sense of tranquility. Though this collection takes on entirely streamlined forms, its essence remains serene and profound.
I drew primarily on the celestial beings depicted in the transformation tableau of the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra on the north wall, taking the lines of the original mural as my inspiration. To deepen my understanding of line and form, I studied numerous scholarly articles to learn the stories behind these murals. That grounding allowed me to create jewelry pieces that possess both a sculptural quality and a sense of orderly beauty.
The Mogao Caves in Dunhuang are world-renowned, yet the art of Dunhuang did not spring from an isolated native tradition. Rather, it absorbed diverse foreign influences and, by the Tang Dynasty, blossomed into a form unmistakably Chinese. For the Chinese, Dunhuang’s artistic style carries an air of mystery and exoticism, and it is precisely this cultural foundation, I believe, that makes it so well-suited to cross-cultural artistic exchange. This collection embodies the inner vitality and profound inclusiveness of Chinese culture, while reflecting the depth of China’s historical heritage.
In fact, compared to jewelry of a similar size, the Dunhuang collection is notably lightweight. Designed to be worn during stage performances, fashion shows, and other public appearances, the pieces are 3D-printed as single, seamless units—making them sturdy yet light. We can assure our customers that no parts will ever come loose while wearing, and they are perfectly suited for any occasion.
The balance lies in this: while the collection draws its inspiration from the Tang Dynasty, its creation fully embraces today's most advanced technologies. Fusing 3D printing with filigree patterns naturally imbues these historical prototypes with a contemporary design sensibility. I also believe that, from a modern aesthetic standpoint, Chinese art of a thousand years ago remains a powerful source of inspiration for designers. The mastery of line in Tang Dynasty painting, for instance, was truly exceptional, and many Chinese designers today continue to find fresh creative stimulus in the Dunhuang murals.
The materials I chose—gold, silver, and pearls—are all classic staples in jewelry across the world. Even in traditional Chinese filigree work, pieces were crafted entirely in gold. Metal tends to read as cold and austere, and within the sculptural forms of the Dunhuang collection, it naturally evokes a certain rugged beauty. That is why I introduced pearls as the visual focal point: they soften the metal's severity with a quiet, lustrous warmth. Moreover, in China's history, pearls were once imported treasures reserved exclusively for the imperial court—highly prized, and potent symbols of imperial authority. Placing them at the center of the design summons a sense of ancient grandeur and nobility.
We have embraced the concept of “contemporary Chinese cultural heritage jewelry” to set ourselves apart from similar approaches in the jewelry industry. With this term, we seek to convey that jewelry is a wearable form of civilization. Like Italy, China is an ancient civilization with an equally rich cultural legacy. Through the simple, everyday act of wearing jewelry, we hope to give presence to China’s millennia-old history and civilization. This is not merely an innovation in aesthetics and craftsmanship—it is a successful act of cultural translation.