How Qeelin’s CNY story drums up the spirit of China’s younger generations

As the curtain rises, a lone drummer appears in the midst of the vastness of northern China. Standing on a peak above the rolling mountains, he gazes into a distant horizon, raises the mallets, and strikes down on the drum. The beat starts slow and steady before building into a thunderous rhythm, channeling what Chinese philosophy calls “qi” — the vital energy that flows through everything in the universe and sustains life. This is a performance of the Majestic Drums and Gongs of Southern Shanxi (Jinnan Weifeng Luogu) and the theme of the film Qeelin, a breakout player in the fine jewelry world, made for the 2026 Chinese New Year. As the lens moves, the inheritor Zhang Yong says, “We trap the ‘qi’ inside the drum, nurturing it. The finest things are nurtured by time and care, generation by generation.” Then a tranquil workshop comes into view, where Wang Chuqin, an Olympic table tennis champion and Qeelin’s global brand ambassador, is meticulously preparing the drumhead and tuning the drum before inscribing the Wulu, Qeelin’s contemporary interpretation of the auspicious Chinese gourd, onto the drum shell. By highlighting the Majestic Drums and Gongs of Southern Shanxi, one of China’s most renowned intangible cultural heritage practices, in this Chinese New Year celebration film, Qeelin intends to create an uplifting mood for the year ahead. This subtle, well-judged move marks yet another chapter in Qeelin’s “Discover the Beauty of China” project, revealing the jeweler’s dedicated exploration of the enduring allure of ancient Chinese culture. A classic of China’s heritage drum music The Majestic Drums and Gongs originated in Linfen, a city in southern Shanxi — a northern China province where a distinctive folk art culture has flourished since the Paleolithic age. This tradition is performed with an ensemble of gongs, drums, and cymbals, often accompanied by joyful singing and vigorous dancing. The drum rolls crash like thunder and the cymbals ring out crisp and clear, creating a powerful, imposing atmosphere. Legend traces this percussion art to the era of the legendary sage-kings Yao and Shun. Since that distant antiquity, its pulse has echoed throughout China’s history. For thousands of years, the drums have sounded over prayers for harvest rains and marched with soldiers into battle. The tradition reached its heyday during the Ming and Qing dynasties, spreading across the Loess Plateau and became a staple of celebrations given its strong artistic appeal and emotional power. Over time, this art form has absorbed elements from multiple other strands of Chinese arts. By centering the film on this effervescent repertoire, Qeelin envisions a new year full of ebullience and optimism. Moreover, the drum music, which is at once rustic and refined, highlights the house’s evolving narrative of China’s long and layered cultural traditions on its expansive landscape. Qeelin’s ongoing expedition to discover the beauty of China This campaign is the third Chinese New Year film of Qeelin’s “Discover the Beauty of China” project, which it first launched during the 2024 Spring Festival. Back then, Qeelin filmed in Yangshuo, a southern town known for its karst landscapes, and centered on the “Golden Dragon Parade,” a local folk celebration, where a stretch of illuminated bamboo rafts across the Yulong River formed the shape of a dragon. Then Qeelin serenaded the 2025 Spring Festival with a hearty presence of “The Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Group” — a choral performance of the Dong people living in southwest China’s Guizhou. An encyclopedia of history, belief, and daily life for over 2,500 years, this folk tradition was listed on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list in 2009. Qeelin’s passion for Eastern culture grew out of a 1997 trip by founder Dennis Chan to the Silk Road where he was captivated by the majestic murals of the Mogao Caves. Since its founding in 2004, the brand has tapped ever deeper into Chinese cultural elements and philosophies and woven them into modern jewelry craftsmanship. Its name was drawn from the qilin, a gentle and revered Chinese mythological beast. Known as the “Chinese unicorn,” it symbolizes love, peace, fortune, and virtue. Known as the master of Wulu, the atelier is the first fine jewelry brand to reinterpret the traditional gourd motif through a lens of contemporary aesthetics. Over the past two decades, it has incorporated a range of classic Chinese totems such as pandas and orchids into wearable designs. In recent years, it has started venturing into cinematic storytelling to breathe new life into beliefs and values that have long shaped the Chinese imagination and way of life. Cultural weight carried on by younger generations Last May, Qeelin appointed Wang Chuqin, the 2000-born athlete, as its new ambassador. On January 9, Qeelin elevated him to a global brand ambassador, doubling down on younger generations among whom Wang enjoys wide popularity, underscoring its focus on the younger generation he so strongly resonates with. The very footage of Wang taking part in crafting the drum and performing with the inheritor speaks directly to China’s younger generations. In that very moment, an intangible cultural heritage is transformed from an elusive abstraction into a vivid, lived, and accessible experience. Over the years, Qeelin has developed a nuanced understanding of the fast-shifting social moods in contemporary China. On the one hand, it has taken note of young people’s growing enthusiasm for traditional culture and hands-on experience with intangible cultural heritage. Take the Majestic Drums and Gongs, for example. Statistics published in July 2024 show that more than 9,000 livestreams themed around this folk art had been hosted on Douyin over the past year, drawing a total of 18.27 million views, a fourfold year-on-year increase. A recent survey by China Youth Daily of young people born between 1990 and 2009 found that 86.4% of respondents felt that an increasing number of their peers were engaging with intangible cultural heritage. Meanwhile, 59.3% believed these living traditions should preserve their cultural core while adopting innovative forms of expression, and 52.2% hoped to see them blended into everyday life. This age group largely overlaps with millennials and Gen Zers, who are emerging as a key growth engine in jewelry consumption. As Qeelin’s CEO Christophe Artaux put it, "We are very focused on Chinese customers – especially Chinese millennials." On the other hand, by showing Wang Chuqing handcrafting the drum, Qeelin appeals to young people to carry Chinese culture forward, at a time when this demographic long awash in globalized modernity is now looking inward to homegrown culture. In this sense, intangible cultural heritage is no longer something merely to be “protected,” but a practice for younger generations to participate in, carry forward, and reinterpret creatively. The grand presence of the Majestic Drums and Gongs performance is also a mood lift for youngsters navigating a subdued economy. Every celebratory occasion has become a highly charged arena where luxury brands compete for consumers’ hearts, especially at a time when emotional spending plays an outsized role in purchase decisions. Few, however, can match Qeelin’s consistency in storytelling. Over the past two decades, the brand has grounded itself deeply in its Chinese roots and excelled at creating emotional connections that go beyond pure aesthetics, differentiating itself from competitors. This, along with its wearable designs and delicate craftsmanship, sheds light on why this young jewelry maison in the Kering portfolio has maintained resilience, as evidenced by its double-digit growth in Q3 2025. By knitting cultural inheritance, youthful energy, and high jewelry aesthetics together, Qeelin once again reveals the charisma of a jewelry house at the crossroads of the historical and the contemporary.

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How Qeelin’s CNY story drums up the spirit of China’s younger generations