Redwood furniture and woodcarvings from Dongyang, East China's Zhejiang province, formed part of the provided furniture at the just-concluded 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, which was held from June 9 to 10, in Qingdao, Shandong province.

Maintur Furniture, a Dongyang company specializing in Chinese traditional mahogany furniture, was the only provider of redwood furniture for the main venues of the summit.

It also marked the third time for Maintur to be the furniture provider for Chinese major diplomatic events, following the 2016 G20 Summit and 2017 BRIC Summit.

"Each international summit highlights the manufacturing skills of Chinese redwood furniture, and we are proud of Chinese traditional culture," said Zhang Xiangrong, president of Maintur Furniture, adding that providing customized furniture for major diplomatic occasions for three years in a row is a recognition of Maintur's status.

"The organizers of the SCO Summit approached us directly after learning of the success that we had enjoyed in the previous two years," said Xu Zhifeng, assistant to the general manager of Maintur.

Meanwhile, the summit's main venue was also adorned with woodcarving works designed by Huang Xiaoming, a master of Chinese arts and crafts and a representative inheritor of the Chinese intangible heritage Dongyang woodcarving art.

With the focus on the splendid landscapes of China, the unique woodcarving crafts took professional woodcarving teams more than six months to carve.

With origins that date back as far as the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the crafts of Dongyang woodcarving is regarded by many to be one of the most elegant forms of relief carving in the world.

The redwood gavel for the opening ceremony of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit is made by Maintur Furniture. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Woodcarving workers pose in front of the piece of wood art made for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]