Underground economy

Song Xiewei, director of the Central Academy of Fine Arts' design department, says the project is a rare opportunity for students to put what they have learned into practice and also, it shows how creativity can add new value to the subway.

Song says: "They have come up with many thrilling ideas. Some may look immature, although, these works represent emerging powers that will help shape the future of city transportation."

Yunnan is home to many of China's ethnic groups that still preserve a variety of traditional customs, cultures and crafts, which became a source of inspiration for some of the students.

One design turns the line's interior space into a showcase for the old paper-cutting craft of the Dai group - the refined, emotional patterns of which reflect the group's tales and religion. Feng Xingda, one of seven members in the design team, says they are proposing that each station would feature a different type of cultural heritage, such as the embroidery of Yi group and the shadow puppets used in Tengchong culture.

Eye-catching attire from differing ethnic groups is an attraction for tourists to Yunnan. Inspired by the kimono rental shops in Kyoto, Japan, Zhang Libaijia and three other teammates designed a service model that would allow people to rent and return dresses and garments at subway stations. The group believes the system will be well-received among young people because of the convenience and more affordable prices compared to rental services found at tourist sites, or the cost of buying such outfits outright.

Other students have turned their attention to the straps people use on board trains. Their design is intended to distract people from their mobile phones, and shift their eyes onto a small screen installed in the handle itself. The electronic screens could be used to provide music, interactive games and useful information.

There is reasoning behind shifting the passengers' focus from one small screen to another. For example, it is not uncommon to find people who are too focused on their mobile phones and completely miss their stop. The handle screens will allow passengers to set an alarm, and it will inform the user by vibrating when the train reaches their stop.

Another design addresses environmental concerns and the protection of the black-headed gulls that migrate to Kunming in winter. Young designers propose to install sculptures of the birds at stations and inside carriages, as well as using interactive screens to promote knowledge of the feathered visitors that enrich Kunming's cityscape every year.

The designs will be shown in Kunming in April to face the critique of policymakers and passengers whose opinions may turn some of these ideas into a reality.

One of the designs comprises a group of four mascots representing Line 4, and is inspired by a centuryold tradition of decorating houses in Yunnan with pottery in the shape of cats.

Their emojis are already available on WeChat.

Cheng Lu, chief planner of Beijing Urban Construction Design and Development Group, says even if it is hard to put some of the ideas into practice, it is the process of discovery and identifying future trends that is important.