Another winner of the Foshan Craftsman honor is Liu Bing, a master of Shiwan-style ceramic sculpture. CHINA DAILY

Yuan Yikai, director of the R&D center at Foshan Nationstar Optoelectronics, is another of the awardees.

As a senior researcher at Nationstar, one of the largest manufacturers of LEDs in China, Yuan has led a team to complete the company's research on a key LED technology, which enables high efficiency and a long life span.

The research project won first prize in the Award for Progress in Science and Technology in 2019.

"As a researcher, we should not only focus on innovation but also need to dedicate ourselves to our work to make qualified products," Yuan said.

"We need to trust young people and ignite their initiative in practices," Yuan said. "My young colleagues are smart and can do a greater job on their own initiative," he added.

There are many obstacles to innovation that require insistence on honing skills to ensure superior production, he said.

The city's awards event focuses on promoting the spirit of craftsmanship and entrepreneurship to encourage people in all walks of life to improve skills, Yuan said.

"That helps inject impetus into a manufacturing transformation and upgrade in Foshan," he said.

Located at the inland of the Pearl River Delta in the south of central Guangdong province, Foshan is a core city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has ranked first in terms of investment in industrial technology transformation in Guangdong for four consecutive years.

With a manufacturing-based economy, Foshan is home to industries such as machinery, household appliances, ceramics, building materials, metal processing and metal products, fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

The city has also seen burgeoning development in emerging industries, including optoelectronics, environmental protection, new materials and new energy vehicles.