Chen Zhu (left), president of the Western Returned Scholars Association, with former French prime minister Jean Pierre Raffarin at a recent exhibition on Sino-French cultural relations in Xi'an. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Although he was not able to remember their names, he was impressed by their work, which he described as being less grand but far from mediocre as well as being typically Chinese yet providing a breath of fresh air.

While many years have passed since he designed the National Center for the Performing Arts, Andreu sees the new group of young Chinese architects coming to the fore as having brought about great changes to China.

In his view, Chinese architects are aware that inheriting tradition does not simply mean imitating ancient buildings but rather drawing inspiration from the roots of their cultural connotations.

As harmony and balance are the foundation of Chinese culture, Andreu says he hopes China will be able to bring more innovation and set an example especially in terms of urban planning in the future, and he thinks that Chinese architects know very well the problems they are facing.

He is currently working on a project in Yiyuan county in Shandong province that aims to revitalize this rural area - which is largely populated by elderly people since the younger generations have left to work in the cities - through art and design.

Earlier media reports said that he plans to work with billionaire Soichiro Fukutake, who joined Japanese architect Tadao Ando to launch a campaign to revitalize Naoshima through art, and Fram Kitagawa, the curator behind the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial in Japan.

According to Wang, he is now working on his first overseas project to build a large mixed community in Paris with a rammed earth and timber structure.

For him, rammed earth is among the most sustainable architectural materials around, and it is through exchanges with French experts since 2009 that he has managed to find a modern solution of how to best make use of it.

"With such a huge amount of construction projects taking place in China, we should make pioneering explorations for the world on the road to sustainable development," he says.