China Design Now is the first exhibition in the UK to explore the recent explosion of contemporary design in China, and the first to attempt to understand the impact of rapid economic development on architecture and design in the country's major cities. From significant architectural projects, including the 2008 Olympic national stadium, to the latest in fashion and graphics, the exhibition investigates this dynamic phase.

The exhibition takes the form of a journey through three rapidly expanding cities - Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen - each a starting point for the exploration of different design fields. Around a hundred designers are featured in a display that focuses on architecture, fashion and graphic design as well as film, photography, product and furniture design, youth culture and digital media. These designers are the pioneers for future generations who will bring Chinese design to an international audience.

Exhibition highlights include:

• China's major Olympic architectural projects - designs include the National Stadium in Beijing (the ‘birds nest') by Herzog & de Meuron as well as Digital Beijing, the information centre, by Chinese architect Zhu Pei;

• The China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren (OMA);

• Foster and Partners' design for the new Capital Airport extension in Beijing;

• Projects by China's leading young architects - including Ma Yansong, Wang Hui, Atelier Deshaus and standard architecture;

• Graphic design from the last two decades showing the transition from China's design pioneers to a new generation of designers experimenting with new technologies and global design trends;

• Products aimed at China's design conscious youth - album covers, skateboards, designer toys, mobile phones, t-shirts and trainers;

• Fashion by some of China's leading designers including Han Feng, Lu Kun, Ma Ke, Wang Yiyang and Zhang Da - from designs evoking 1930s Shanghai chic to avant-garde fashion;

• Commune by the Great Wall, a boutique spa hotel on the Great Wall of China comprising twelve pavilions designed by Asian architects;

• The new wave of creative consumer and lifestyle magazines;

• Private and government initiated housing projects for the affluent middle classes such as ‘Thames Town' outside Shanghai, a recreation of a small English town;

• Photography, furniture and fashion inspired by the revival of 1930s Shanghai glamour;

• Photographs from the Great Family Aspirations series by Weng Fen and the Shanghai Living series by Hu Yang, documenting the living rooms of Shanghai residents from the newly wealthy to migrants to the city.

China Design Now is part of the CHINA NOW festival.