“The glasses are so exquisite, crystal clear and white,” a young couple marveled at a set of baijiu set at the Eleonora Crystal Exhibition Area in Hall 9 of the Ningbo International Convention and Exhibition Center.

"You really have a good taste,” Zheng Yao, director at the Ningbo Xinjiejing Import and Export Co. Ltd., said to the young couple. “They are made of genuine Czech crystal and their bottoms are embossed with Chinese elements.”

Coming from Eleonora Crystal 1834, a time-honored Czech brand, the crystal wine set is among a series specially designed for the CIIE, which is held annually in Shanghai. Through the CIIE, the crystal sets have not only become popular with boutique hotels and restaurants, but also gradually entered ordinary households with a reasonable price.

“Ningbo is a unique city, with great potential for its port development,” said Peter Korčák, CEO of Eleonora Crystal 1834. “Numerous trade services platforms are readily available, which have greatly helped in promoting our products in China.”

Indeed, since entering the China market in 2015 and joining the China-CEEC Expo and CIIE, Eleonora Crystal 1834 have been making efforts to tailor its products to the Chinese market: tea sets painted with Chinese landscape, fruit plates engraved with Chinese patterns, peony vases with golden embossing and red prints…a variety of Chinese-style crystal ornaments, articles of daily use and furnishings have been offered.

“Our crystal-manufacturing technology is unique. In recent years, we have established a modern design studio in Prague, and cooperated with Chinese designers to develop works. We have won over the hearts of many Chinese clients!” said Peter Korčák proudly.

When Eleonora Crystal 1834 first came to Ningbo, its exhibition area was only about 100 square meters. Now it has been expanded to 300 square meters, with nearly 300 items on display. With the growing influence of the China-CEEC Expo and more buyers, Eleonora’s exhibition area and displayed products are set to further increase.

Peter Korčák, on the other hand, is already looking ahead to 2034, when Eleonora Crystal 1834 will mark its bicentennial. “We are preparing a special series to pay tribute to our customers. The Chinese market is of course indispensable and will be the first and foremost one for Czech crystals to expand the market.”