Innovation. That’s a word which in Nanjing is bantered around like baozi. But slapping the label “innovative” on something doesn’t make it so.
创新。这个词在南京就像包子一样被人们戏谑。但给某件事贴上“创新”的标签并不意味着它就是这样。
To find the genuine article, The Nanjinger first asks the question, what does Africa’s number 1 music APP, Boomplay, have in common with a bunch of students at Nanjing University of Science & Technology (NUST)?
为了找到正版文章，《南京人》首先提出一个问题，非洲第一音乐APP Boomplay 和南京理工大学的一帮学生有什么共同点？
We’ll get to that. First, a little story about a Nanjing success story. We all know Alibaba and Amazon, but outside of the manufacturing and export sectors, few in the international community might be aware of Made-in-China.com.
我们会解决这个问题的。首先，讲一个关于南京成功故事的小故事。我们都知道阿里巴巴和亚马逊，但在制造和出口领域之外，国际社会可能很少有人知道中国制造网。
Dating back to 1998 and with over six million Registered Supplier Members, Made-in-China.com taps business opportunities for Chinese suppliers and overseas buyers, providing one-stop services for promoting international trade between the two sides. And it’s all proudly happening in Nanjing.
中国制造网始建于1998年，拥有超过600万注册供应商会员，为中国供应商和海外采购商挖掘商机，为促进双方国际贸易提供一站式服务。而这一切正在南京自豪地发生。
But with so many suppliers, how is a buyer supposed to know which ones really do provide the top-quality products that they claim to and which the rest of the world demands?
但是，面对如此多的供应商，买家如何知道哪些供应商确实提供了他们声称的优质产品，哪些供应商是世界其他地方所需要的？
Say hello to the Made-in-China.com initiative, the Manufacturing Excellence & Innovation Awards (MEI Awards). Initiated in 2011 in celebration of excellence in Chinese product manufacturing, the contest brings together the brightest of Chinese manufacturers in the launch of a series of outstanding products. These are then showcased at global events where Chinese manufacturers display their exemplary creations and share industry insights.
向中国制造网倡议、卓越制造与创新奖（MEI 奖）问好。该大赛于 2011 年发起，旨在庆祝中国产品制造领域的卓越表现，汇聚了中国最优秀的制造商，推出了一系列优秀产品。然后，这些产品将在全球活动中展示，中国制造商将在这些活动中展示他们的典范作品并分享行业见解。
All well and good. But here comes the innovative part, as was recently explained to The Nanjinger by Victor Du, MEI Awards Secretary General.
一切都很好。但创新的部分来了，正如 MEI 奖秘书长 Victor Du 最近向《南京人》所解释的那样。
Africa is now of course an emerging key market for Chinese manufacturers. And Africa has a lot of young people, somewhere now in the vicinity of 260 million in fact. And what do young people like? Music.
非洲现在当然是中国制造商的新兴关键市场。非洲有很多年轻人，事实上现在约有 2.6 亿。而年轻人喜欢什么？音乐。
Therein, in addition to the sales of albums and videos, merchandise (let’s be cool and call it the “merch”) makes up a sizeable portion of an artist’s income. And in order to bring in as many of those South African Rand or Nigerian Naira as possible, that means the merch must be of high quality.
其中，除了专辑和视频的销售外，商品（我们姑且称之为“商品”）在艺人收入中也占据了相当大的比例。为了尽可能多地引进南非兰特或尼日利亚奈拉，这意味着商品必须具有高质量。
That’s where the innovation comes in. By agreeing to order their lovely merch from Mei Award-winning manufacturers, Made-in-China was able to leverage their localness to bring in design students at NUST.
这就是创新的用武之地。通过同意从梅奖获奖制造商那里订购可爱的商品，中国制造能够利用其本土性吸引了新加坡科技大学的设计专业学生。
It’s a true “win-win”. The artists get what they want and at the same time tap into a new audience, as well as supporting the students’ portfolios. It goes without saying that the students jump at the chance to work with pop stars, while obviously the promotion/manufacturing chain is happy too.
这是真正的“双赢”。艺术家们得到了他们想要的，同时吸引了新的观众，并支持学生的作品集。不言而喻，学生们欣然接受与流行歌星合作的机会，而显然促销/制造链也很高兴。
The way it works is the students in Nanjing hold online meetings with African artists, including the likes of 9ice and Kaptain, who provide a little direction as to the kind of merch in which they may be interested. With that look into the artists’ minds, they students get a feel for the direction they are going to take.
其运作方式是南京的学生与非洲艺术家（包括 9ice 和 Kaptain 等）举行在线会议，他们为他们可能感兴趣的商品类型提供一些指导。通过了解艺术家的想法，学生们可以感受到他们要走的方向。
That merch is then worn by the artists themselves in their music videos, during their concerts and undoubtedly throughout the duration of their much-Instagramed life. Fans order the merch, by MEI Award-winning factories listed on BoomMall (Boomplay’s online shopping mall) and the circle is complete.
然后，艺术家们自己会在他们的音乐录影带、音乐会期间以及毫无疑问在他们在 Instagram 上广为流传的一生中佩戴该商品。粉丝们在 BoomMall（Boomplay 的在线购物商城）上列出的 MEI 获奖工厂订购商品，这个圈子就完成了。
In two words, it’s pure genius.
简而言之，这是纯粹的天才。
So what designs are the NUST students coming up with? Dog tags and tshirts are especially-popular items.
那么NUST的学生们想出了什么设计呢？狗牌和 T 恤是特别受欢迎的商品。
Du disclosed to The Nanjinger that factories have reported to him some of these items of merch have quickly been sold out.
杜向《南京人》透露，工厂向他反映，其中一些商品很快就被抢购一空。
What’s not to love? As a concept, the initiative in a nutshell connects the artists with their many fans, as well as manufacturers here in China with African consumers, in the process transcending the numerous barriers to business presented by COVID.
什么是不爱？简而言之，这一举措将艺术家与众多粉丝、中国制造商与非洲消费者联系起来，在此过程中克服了新冠疫情带来的众多商业障碍。
For Du, his baby that is the MEI Awards fits nicely into his broader picture. A Nanjinger through and through, Du’s mission is see his city become synonymous with the word “quality”.
对于杜来说，他的宝贝 MEI 奖非常适合他更广阔的视野。作为一个彻头彻尾的南京人，杜的使命是让他的城市成为“品质”一词的代名词。
Now if there’s ever been a better example of inspirational innovation, this publication is yet to see it. And it’s all proudly happening in our very own Nanjing.
如果说还有什么更好的鼓舞人心的创新例子的话，本出版物还没有看到。而这一切正在我们自己的南京自豪地发生。
