NorthGlass Chairman and founder Gao Xueming has been named Wallpaper Chinese Edition’s “Outstanding Person of the Year”, a newly introduced honor recognizing visionary leaders who have reshaped their industries. The award was presented during the 5th Wallpaper Chinese Edition Design Awards on November 2, 2025, at Shenzhen Bay Culture Square.
This year’s theme, “The Non-Standard Era,” set the stage for celebrating individuals and companies redefining the boundaries of design, technology, and innovation. Mr. Gao received the distinction jointly with Wang Tao, founder of DJI, reflecting both leaders’ transformative contributions to China’s global influence in advanced manufacturing.
A Recognition Rooted in Innovation
Launched in 2021, the Wallpaper* Chinese Edition Design Awards evaluate achievements through the lens of “Happening in China, Developing in China, Thinking in China.” Entries are judged on social value, innovation, long-term potential, and influence across architecture, design, art, and fashion. The international panel includes Pritzker Prize–winning architects, Oscar recipients, and leading curators, cementing the awards as among the most credible and respected platforms in the global design arena.
Three Decades of Breaking Barriers
Since founding Luoyang North Glass Technology Co., Ltd. in 1995, Mr. Gao has played a pivotal role in advancing China’s glass deep-processing capabilities. Under his leadership, NorthGlass developed the country’s first horizontal roller-type glass bending and tempering furnace, a breakthrough that dismantled long-standing foreign monopolies. 
In 2004, the company introduced its next major innovation: a new generation of “flat and distortion-free” tempering units, which have since been used in landmark national projects such as the National Centre for the Performing Arts and various Olympic venues. Today, NorthGlass holds more than 400 patents, underscoring its position as a global technological leader.
Reflecting on a “Non-Standard” Journey
Marketing Director Li Chunchao represented Mr. Gao at the ceremony and shared a message looking back on NorthGlass’s evolution:
In the first decade, we established standards from scratch; in the second, we moved from standards to ‘non-standard’; and now, in our third decade, NorthGlass is expanding globally and exploring new possibilities within the ‘non-standard’ landscape.
The company’s path mirrors the award’s theme, embracing experimentation, customization, and breakthroughs that challenge traditional frameworks. From setting industry benchmarks to venturing beyond them, NorthGlass continues to prove that true innovation comes from both mastering standards and daring to surpass them.
Source: North Glass with additional information added by Glass Balkan
