Caldas da Rainha

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2019

City presentation

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Castelo Branco

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2023

City presentation

At the heart of Castelo Branco lies the renowned art of Castelo Branco Embroidery, which shapes the city’s unique cultural identity. This embroidery is not only celebrated for its beauty but also for its economic significance, adorning sidewalks and buildings as a symbol of the city’s rich heritage. Local artisans dedicated to preserving this craft continue to produce intricate embroidery, ensuring its relevance in the creative world.

Castelo Branco has also engaged in international collaborations with cities across various continents, enhancing its cultural influence. To combat demographic decline, the municipality focuses on improving quality of life, making Castelo Branco one of the most attractive cities in Portugal for foreign residents and investments. The crafts industry is crucial to the city’s development, exemplified by the “Embroidery and Hosting” brand, which protects local artisans and promotes events like the Castelo Branco Fashion contest, further advancing this cherished tradition.

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Cheongju City

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Situated in the central region of South Korea, Cheongju is a dynamic urban hub where a rich educational landscape — eight universities — and a diverse cultural infrastructure converge with centuries of craft heritage. The city holds a singular place in world history as the birthplace of Jikji, the oldest known book printed with movable metal type, inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. This legacy of innovation and transmission lives on through thriving practices in ceramics, metalwork, textiles, lacquerware and paper crafts. Since 1999, the Cheongju Craft Biennale has drawn around 300,000 visitors per edition, placing the city firmly on the global craft map. Today, 832 craft-related companies, 180 registered artists and 80 small workshops generate approximately USD 46 million in annual sales and employ more than 3,400 people.

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Chiang Mai

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017

City presentation

Located in Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai, the “Rose of the North,” was established in 1296 as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. The city’s craftspeople were essential in developing its reputation as a trade center, contributing to the crafts industry from nearby villages, with 159 established enterprises providing significant employment. Chiang Mai’s craft practices, including pottery, silverwork, wood carving, silk embroidery, and lacquerware, are passed down through programs in public schools, like the ‘Museum to School’ initiative, which raises awareness of local crafts and folk arts.

The Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organisation is committed to protecting this heritage by enhancing educational institutions and launching the ‘One Sub-District, One Product’ initiative to support local crafts in global markets, benefiting small-scale producers, including those from vulnerable communities, through capacity-building workshops.

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Chardeleg

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017

City presentation

Chordeleg, a small city in southern Ecuador, is renowned for its precious metal work, pottery, footwear manufacturing, and toquilla straw weaving. These four sectors employ 66% of the active population, with 58% being women artisans. Craft knowledge is traditionally passed down through families and communities via oral tradition, and the city supports sustainability by helping artisans establish cooperatives and facilitating knowledge transfer.

The annual Candonga Festival, initiated in 2011, promotes Chordeleg’s crafts and encourages collaboration among artisans. The city partners with the Inter-American Centre for Crafts and Popular Arts (CIDAP) to safeguard traditional craft methods and improve working conditions. Additionally, the Municipality is implementing a National Plan to protect traditional toquilla weaving, focusing on revitalizing the craft sector through promotion and communication, while a broader Development and Territorial Planning strategy has already led to the creation of 12 new businesses.

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Como

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2021

City presentation

Como, at the heart of Italy’s Textile Valley, is renowned for its textile industry, particularly silk craft and sericulture. The city is dedicated to preserving its rich traditions while promoting innovation through strong support from training centers and the creativity of its artisans and textile manufacturers.

Como’s textile sector is backed by renowned institutions such as the Setificio school, Italy’s oldest textile school, the University of Insubria, which emphasizes research and sustainability, and the Silk Museum, which preserves traditional production methods. The “Ratti” Foundation also plays a key role with its textile archive. Today, Como produces around 70% of Europe’s silk and is home to 1,400 silk companies, employing over 15,000 people. This thriving industry supports both the cultural heritage and the social fabric of the city.

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Durán

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2015

City presentation

Durán, known as the “Railway Town of Ecuador,” preserves its cultural heritage through the exchange of practices shaped by its historical role as the country’s first railroad hub. The city views culture and creativity as essential for collective memory, urban well-being, and social cohesion, especially through urban art.

Since 2007, the Festival Memories of the Railroad has honored former railway workers, inspiring projects like History on Frontages, where local artists paint murals depicting the city’s history. Another initiative, Youth for Human Rights, involves over 150 young artists, emphasizing civic awareness through art. Durán’s Cultural Nights project, supported by the municipality, promotes local art, while the Luis Sánchez Borja Convention Centre contributes to transforming this industrial city into a hub for creativity and cultural exchange.

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Echizen City

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Anchored in the central part of the Japanese archipelago, Echizen City has forged a cultural identity shaped by centuries of exchange with neighbouring Asian civilisations. Once the seat of a provincial capital, the city developed early as a place where spirituality, governance and craftsmanship intertwined. Its international reputation rests on three exceptional traditions: Echizen washi, a handmade paper with a 1,500-year history used in literary works, paintings and heritage restoration worldwide; Echizen knives, whose origins trace back to samurai swordsmithing; and Echizen chests of drawers, prized for their refined joinery and durability. Together, these industries span over 100 production sites, employ more than 500 artisans and generate annual outputs exceeding 4 billion yen. A rich network of museums and craft facilities welcomes over 100,000 visitors each year, while the Millennial Future Craft Fair, held annually since 2018, nurtures dialogue between tradition and contemporary creation.

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Faenza

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Few cities in the world have lent their name to an entire art form — Faenza is one of them, having given rise to the term “faïence” through centuries of ceramic excellence. Drawing on the clay-rich soils of the Lamone River basin, the city developed a craft tradition that today encompasses over 70 active workshops where ancestral techniques meet contemporary design. The sector has an international dimension: nearly 30% of practitioners have relocated to Faenza from other regions or countries, enriching the creative community, while approximately 30% of production reaches European and North American markets. The International Museum of Ceramics anchors the city’s cultural life, welcoming over 40,000 visitors a year, alongside international events such as the Argillà biennial and the Premio Faenza competition, established in 1938. Faenza also leads the European Route of Ceramics, a Cultural Route certified by the Council of Europe, and hosts the headquarters of the Italian Association of Cities of Ceramics.

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Gabrovo

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017

City presentation

Gabrovo, in central northern Bulgaria, was a major craft center in the 19th century, known for woodcarving and wool weaving. Today, it remains a vibrant hub for crafts, with 33 craft enterprises and 111 independent artisans. The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum (ETAR), established in the 1960s, showcases the region’s rich craft traditions.

Gabrovo hosts the annual International Crafts Fair, the largest of its kind in the region, featuring artisans from around the world. The event includes a master competition and scientific conferences on global craft trends. Gabrovo’s lively carnival also highlights local humor, traditional songs, and folk culture. The city aims to attract young artists through its Culture Development Strategy, promoting crafts as a driver of sustainable development.

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Gimhae

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2021

City presentation

Gimhae, renowned for its Gaya pottery and Buncheong ware from the Joseon Dynasty, is modernizing its crafts sector into a thriving creative industry. Home to 240 craft companies, the city’s Workshop Village serves as a key creative hub for production, education, and trade. Gimhae’s ceramics industry is supported by institutions like the Clayarch Gimhae Museum, the world’s first architectural ceramics museum, and the Gimhae Buncheong Ceramics Museum, dedicated to preserving and evolving Buncheong ware.

Gimhae aims to innovate its ceramics tradition, integrate citizen participation in its creative city development, and align with Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in education, gender equality, and sustainable urban development.

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Hangzhou

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2012

City presentation

With a 5,000-year history, Hangzhou, one of China’s ancient capitals, has transformed by focusing on cultural and creative industries. Its rich history supports renowned crafts such as silk and tea production, as well as porcelain and bronze sculptures. As a historic center for Chinese silk, Hangzhou has preserved this craft heritage. Known as China’s “Tea Capital,” the city is famous for West Lake Longjing Green Tea. Additionally, the stone carvings by the Xiling Seal Engraver’s Society highlight Hangzhou’s enduring crafts tradition. Recognized as a “National Cultural and Creative Centre,” Hangzhou’s creative industries employ over 336,000 people and play a key role in the city’s economic and cultural development.

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Hebron

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Hebron has served for over 5,000 years as a crossroads of trade, faith and craftsmanship. Its Old City, centred on the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and remains a living hub of cultural and economic activity. Across generations, the city has cultivated distinctive traditions in pottery, blown glass, embroidery and stone carving, with glassblowing dating back to the 14th century. Over 1,200 artisans work today in small family-run workshops and cooperatives, supported by more than 200 artisan enterprises that provide employment particularly for women and young people. Cultural institutions such as the Hebron Old City Museum and the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, together with events like the Hebron Arts and Heritage Festival, sustain public engagement with this heritage. In 2016, the city received official recognition as a World Crafts City by the World Crafts Council.

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Höhr-Grenzhausen

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2025

City presentation

Deep in the Kannenbäckerland region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Höhr-Grenzhausen sits atop Germany’s largest contiguous clay deposits, a geological endowment that has sustained ceramic life here since the Middle Neolithic. Salt trade routes in the 15th century and abundant forest resources for kiln firing helped transform this natural advantage into a structured pottery economy whose influence endures today. Around 40 workshops and studios operate alongside small and medium enterprises active in ceramic and glass production, collectively supporting some 500 jobs across craftsmanship, education, research and marketing. The Westerwald stoneware tradition was inscribed on the national intangible cultural heritage register in 2016. At the heart of the city’s creative ecosystem stands the Ceramics Education and Research Center, an umbrella body uniting eight specialised institutes covering everything from vocational training to advanced research. The Westerwald Ceramic Museum and events such as the European Ceramics Market round out a rich offer for professionals and the wider public alike.

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Hoi An

City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2023

City presentation

Hội An, located in Central Vietnam, is a beautiful city with an ancient town recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1999; Chàm Islands – Hội An was recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve in 2009; and the art of Bài Chòi in Central Vietnam, effectively practiced in Hội An, was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017. In 2023, Hội An joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Crafts and Folk Art.

Hội An’s intrinsic strength is the resonance of work, creativity, indigenous cultural values and the absorption of the quintessence from countries that have come to trade over the long periods. From experts, artists, intellectuals to workers, farmers, etc.; from indigenous communities to individuals from other places; they have all brought together the essence of labor, innovation and the determination to create a source of creativity for this land.

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