The WorldSkills Museum stands in the former Wing On textile storehouse, built in 1922. The Guo brothers — entrepreneurs from Guangdong — stored cotton and other goods within its walls. They operated some of China’s most advanced cotton mills and founded the Wing On department stores. The riverside site gave them direct access to transport routes, allowing goods to move efficiently between Shanghai and the rest of the country.
The restored building received heritage status thanks to its links to Yangpu’s textile industry in the early 20th century, when the district echoed with the clatter of spindles and looms. The mills that once surrounded these walls — and the workers who ran them — turned Yangpu into a thriving manufacturing hub. Today, that tradition continues through WorldSkills, as a new generation trains for the demands of modern industry.
Wing On cotton mill, Textile Museum, Shanghai, WorldSkills Museum Collection
Yangpu’s textile district tells the story of industrial Shanghai. Mills, warehouses, and riverside wharves connected raw materials to finished goods — an ecosystem of making that shaped the city.
The late 20th century brought another period of rapid change. As China opened to the world, millions moved from farms to factories. New industries emerged, each with a host of new skills to master. For many families, progress was visible in the objects at home.
The country’s industrial transformation accelerated after market reforms began in 1978. Over four decades, China moved from a predominantly agricultural economy to the world’s largest manufacturing economy, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty and creating a substantial middle class.
Commuters bicycle to work at the Baotou Steel Mills, 1984.
Hiroji Kubota / Magnum Photos
The pace of change in the 20th century was new, but it rested on something older: centuries of skill passed from hand to hand.
Long before the first modern vocational academies opened in the 1860s, skills in China passed from master to apprentice.
Chinese woodworking traditions, for example, stretch back millennia. Lu Ban, a craftsman and engineer from the fifth century BCE, became the legendary patron of Chinese carpentry. Historical texts describe his innovations in tools and techniques, though later generations added mythical elements to his story.
Traditional Chinese joinery relies on precision joints without nails or glue — principles recorded in later works such as the Ming-era Lu Ban Jing and practised across East Asia for centuries. At WorldSkills Competitions, Chinese joiners show how these traditions continue to evolve, applying modern standards within a craft lineage that stretches back thousands of years.
Make the unemployed employed and make the employed passionate.
Zhonghua Vocational School slogan, 1927
From woodblock printing to porcelain and textile arts, China’s cultural heritage includes traditional crafts passed down through generations. Today, these skills serve a dual purpose: preserving cultural knowledge while providing economic opportunity.
Heritage craft workshops now operate across rural China, offering employment in communities with few alternatives. In recent years, government-supported projects have employed hundreds of thousands of people. Master craftspeople train new practitioners, ensuring techniques survive while creating sustainable livelihoods.
From porcelain kilns and textile workshops to steel mills and advanced factories, China’s growth has always been powered by people with skills.
As the country enters a new phase of development, technical education and high-end industry remain central. A skilled workforce will continue to shape China’s prosperity in the 21st century.
