A group of practitioners in Nantong, Jiangsu province, is breathing new life into traditional Chinese aesthetics, going beyond preservation to make heritage truly livable – a vision now taking shape across the city.

Seasonal scenery in Hexi Coffee. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

At Hexi Coffee in Tangzha Ancient Town, founder Pan Jing has transformed the small courtyard by incorporating four local seasonal scenes, weaving in bamboo crafts, paper-cutting, and woodblock prints into a space that feels both timeless and refreshing. Her team has visited nearly 80 percent of Nantong's intangible cultural heritage inheritors, transforming woodblock paintings into refrigerator magnets and local fabrics into a distinctive calendar, thus making tradition genuinely tangible.

Contemporary Chinese-style clothes designed by Wuwang. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The Fumei Hat Museum displays over 6,000 historical headpieces, many one-of-a-kind, anchoring an institution where dynastic artifacts meet AI digital art and contemporary sculpture. Its hands-on diancui workshops offer visitors a rare chance to experience the intricate technique, which is now prohibited for conservation reasons. Diancui is a traditional Chinese technique which involves delicately attaching dyed bird feathers to metal works.

In another realm of revival, fashion label Wuwang introduces traditional fabrics such as Song brocade, a type of fabric developed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and jiaoluo silk, once reserved for emperors, into modern wardrobes, blending traditional textiles with Western tailoring. Their custom-made qipao now reaches overseas Chinese clients celebrating weddings and ceremonies worldwide.

A wedding inside Sheyuan Guesthouse. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Meanwhile, Sheyuan Guesthouse reimagines classical garden architecture as a living stage, with weddings and anniversaries accounting for over 40 percent of its non-lodging revenue.

Together, these innovators reveal that genuine cultural revival lies not in surface symbolism, but in creative reinvention rooted in deep local knowledge.