HURUN RESEARCH AND YUANZHENG CULTURE RELEASE

HURUN CHINA MOST SUSTAINABLE CITIES PRODUCING CERAMICS 2024 

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HURUN GLOBAL SMART BATHROOM BRANDS 2024

FOSHAN NUMBER ONE CITY FOR ‘GREEN CERAMICS’, FOLLOWED BY QUANZHOU, QINGYUAN, ZIBO AND LESHAN.

GEBERIT NUMBER ONE FOR ‘SMART BATHROOM BRANDS’, WORTH US$25BN, FOLLOWED BY TOTO, LIXIL, KOHLER AND KAJARIA

CHINA HAS MOST ‘SMART BATHROOM BRANDS’ WITH 7, FOLLOWED BY INDIA WITH 4 AND JAPAN WITH 2

(27 May 2025, Shanghai) The Hurun Research Institute, in association with Yuanzheng Culture, today released the Hurun Global Ceramics Report 2024, a report made up of four bespoke lists. The first is the Hurun China Most Sustainable Cities Producing Ceramics 2024, a list of the ten best cities in China for sustainable ceramic production. The second is the Hurun Global Smart Bathroom Brands 2024, listing the twenty most valuable smart bathroom brands in the world. The third and fourth are the Hurun Influential Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage Ceramic Skills 2024 and Hurun Innovative Contemporary Ceramic Artists 2024, two lists of ceramic artists. This is the second year of the Hurun Global Ceramic Report.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun, chairman and chief researcher, said:

“I am delighted to work with Zhang Xuefang and the Yuanzheng Culture team for the second year running to release the Hurun Global Ceramics Report. Last year, we focused on art ceramics and tabletop ceramics, and this year, the focus is on ceramics for the building industry and bathrooms. Sustainability and smart manufacturing are reshaping the global ceramic industry.”

“The ceramics industry is facing a series of headwinds. Demand in China is down as new builds have slowed, which has stimulated an intense price war for market share. Investment is required to upgrade to ‘green ceramics’, replacing the high energy consumption with green energy and upgrading production to smart production. The likely winners? Those, who are making the transition to producing ‘green ceramics’.”

“The Hurun Most Sustainable China Cities for Ceramic Manufacturing highlights those cities which have been most successful in making the transition to ‘green ceramics’, ie using renewable energy and bringing down emissions to international standards.”

“Foshan is far ahead when it comes to ‘green’ and ‘smart’ ceramics, accounting for some 10% of China’s tile production. It has by far the highest concentration of leading ceramic business. Most of these companies have already made the transition to ‘green ceramics’ and are integrating smart technology into their products.”

“For smart bathrooms, it’s the integration of the Internet of Things and big data that is reshaping the industry. The Hurun list highlights those bathroom brands that investors believe are going to make the most profits over the next decade or so. We have designed this list to help investors and consumers.”

“Asian companies lead the world’s best bathroom brands, partly because Asian countries are building more homes than the rest of the world combined. Whilst Switzerland’s Geberit is the world’s most valuable smart bathroom brand, China leads the world with seven of the twenty smart bathroom brands on our list, followed by India and Japan.”

“Hurun is delighted to give recognition to the ceramic artists who embody the living cultural heritage of ceramic art. This year we give 178 artists recognition.”

Zhang Xuefang, Yuanzheng Cultural Industry Group, founder and chairman said, “Yuanzheng Culture’s values corporate philosophy is to ‘be benevolent, contribute to society, have integrity, and be transparent, strive for mutual benefit and mutual success’. We want to promote China's exceptional traditional culture, with the aim of offering the world a deeper insight and a shared appreciation for the thousands of years of exquisite and splendid Chinese civilization. We are deeply committed to fostering innovation in both Chinese and Western cultural education, as well as facilitating the exchange and dissemination of Chinese and Western cultures. Yuanzheng Culture has collaborated with the Hurun Research Institute to release the second Hurun Global Ceramics Report. This year we have focused on 'China’s Ceramics Industry and Traditional Culture and Art', with the goal of fostering cultural self-sufficiency and confidence, interpreting the charm of Chinese ceramics, and once again showcasing the magnificent culture of ceramics.”

This is a brief summary of the Chinese-language press release. For the full press release in Chinese, please see www.hurun.net.

Yuanzheng Culture · Hurun China Most Sustainable Cities Producing Ceramics 2024

Yuanzheng Culture · Hurun Global Smart Bathroom Brands 2024

Geographic Distribution of Yuanzheng Culture · Hurun Global Smart Bathroom Brands 2024, by country

Geographic Distribution of Yuanzheng Culture · Hurun Global Smart Bathroom Brands 2024, by continent

We also released two lists of ceramic artists, commending 178 artists, split into the Hurun Influential Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage Ceramic Skills 2024 and the Hurun Innovative Contemporary Ceramic Artists 2024.

The artists on these two lists include technicians, craftsmen and academics. Many already  have won honors, such as inheritors of national intangible cultural heritage, senior arts and crafts artists, or hold the title of professor in the field of ceramics. With their skills and creativity, they contribute to the inheritance and innovation of China ceramic culture.

Hurun Influential Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage Ceramic Skills 2024

Hurun Innovative Contemporary Ceramic Artists 2024

About Yuanzheng Cultural Industry Group Co., Ltd

Yuanzheng Cultural Industry Group Co., Ltd. is dedicated to cultural education as its primary sector and specializes in diversified and comprehensive businesses such as vocational education, international education, Chinese culture communication, corporate planning, cultural tourism development, brand promotion, and cultural exchange. The company upholds the corporate culture philosophy of "emphasizing benevolence as the foundation, contributing to society; establishing a business with integrity, and upholding righteousness and transparency; operating with honesty to achieve mutual benefit and mutual success." It is committed to enhancing the company's brand, shaping a corporate image, demonstrating its inherent value, and earning social esteem. Currently, the company operates six principal management divisions, which include vocational education, international education, corporate planning, brand promotion, cultural tourism projects , and comprehensive management. Its subsidiaries include: Nanchang Tingyun Industrial Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shirun Cultural and Creativity Co., Ltd.,Jiangxi Yuanfu Culture Communication Co., Ltd.,and Jinggangshan University Yuanzheng Guoxue College. The company has established investment sectors, covering vocational education, international education, cultural tourism projects, Chinese culture education. In collaboration with the Hurun Research Institute, the company recently unveiled the "2023-2033 Global Ceramics List " to help China tell the story of exceptional ceramics, highlight the artistry of ceramic craftsmanship, promote Chinese ceramic culture, and contribute to the continued evolution of the ceramic industry.

About Hurun Inc.

Promoting Entrepreneurship Through Lists and Research

Oxford, Shanghai, Mumbai

Established in the United Kingdom in 1999, Hurun is a research and media group, promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. Widely regarded as an opinion-leader in the world of business, Hurun generated 8 billion views on the Hurun brand in 2024, mainly in China and India, and recently expanding to the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Best-known for the Hurun Rich List series, telling the stories of the world’s successful entrepreneurs in China, India and the world, Hurun’s other key series focus on young businesses and entrepreneurs, through the Hurun Unicorns Index, two Hurun Future Unicorns indices, the Hurun U^th series and the Hurun Pioneers series.

Hurun has grown to become the world’s largest list compiler for start-ups, ranking over 3000 start-ups across the world through its annual Hurun Global Unicorns Index (startups with a valuation of US$1bn+), and two Hurun Future Unicorn Indexes: Gazelles, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within three years, and Cheetahs, most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within five years.

The Hurun Pioneering Young Startups and Entrepreneurs series focuses on startups set up within the last ten years and founders aged 45 or under.

The Hurun U^th series includes the Under25s, Under30s, Under35s and Under40s awards, representing the cream of each generation of young entrepreneurs who have founded businesses with a social impact and worth US$1m, US$10m, US$50m and US$100m respectively.

Other lists include the Hurun 500 series, ranking the most valuable companies in the world, China and India, the Hurun Global High Schools List, ranking the world’s best independent high schools, the Hurun Philanthropy List, ranking the biggest philanthropists and the Hurun Art List, ranking the world’s most successful artists alive today.

Hurun provides research reports co-branded with some of the world’s leading financial institutions and regional governments.

Hurun hosts high-profile events across China and India, as well as London, Paris, New York, LA, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Dubai and Singapore.

For further information, see www.hurun.net.

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