China is one of Kopenhagen Fur's most important markets. The export of mink skins accounts for as much as one third of Denmark's combined exports to China/Hong Kong. Many skins are tanned, treated and sewn into garments in China and re-exported. At the same time, increasing amounts of skins are sold to Chinese consumers within China. In recent years, the demand in China for fur has accelerated dramatically, driven by the country's increasing growth rates.
In January 2007, Kopenhagen Fur's presence in China was boosted with a design centre in Beijing, inaugurated jointly with the leading Chinese university, Tsinghua University. Design students at Tsinghua Kopenhagen Studio are given the opportunity to work with fur and become skilled in fur design and techniques. Tsinghua Kopenhagen Studio works closely with Kopenhagen Studio in Copenhagen from where some of the instructors also come. Tsinghua University is China's leading university with well over 30,000 students enrolled from all over China. Admission is highly competitive and at the faculty for art and design just 200 students are enrolled each year from a base of well over 17,000 applicants.
Like Kopenhagen Studio in Copenhagen, Tsinghua Kopenhagen Studio in Beijing focuses on innovation and creativity but with a primary focus on the next generation of designers. The students at Tsinghua University represent the future of China and thus the future of one of the world's leading economies. Tsinghua Kopenhagen Studio uses award-winning, untraditional Chinese teaching methods to enhance the students' creativity. Despite the fact that the studio has only been open since January 2007, the students have already won an impressive number of awards.
