Beijing's newest landmark architecture - among it the soaring CCTV tower, the egg-like National Grand Theatre Opera House, the 'bird's nest' National Stadium and the bubbly 'water cube' National Aquatics Centre - has been much discussed. Even though most of the buildings are not completed, most of us are familiar with the designs and the architects behind them. But modern design in China goes far beyond the international names. A buoyant economy and a desire to embrace new opportunities are fuelling innovation in design and architecture. The results are not always successful, although a small but increasingly assertive generation of mainland architects and designers are attracting attention. By infusing their work with a Chinese essence and an international outlook, they're creating designs with global appeal but also rooted in their culture. Beijing architect Wang Hui says good design is a product of this cosmopolitan mixture. 'It's a kind of exchange,' he explains. 'If you only think about things in one way, it's limited. Fresh information gives you new points of view to think about design.' The new generation of Chinese architects look at their culture from both inside and out and to reconnect with their origins in a global context. In Shanghai, for instance, new villas are springing up outside the city centre, with some taking inspiration from classic architecture and adding a modern twist. Hong Kong architect Rocco Yim's modernist design for Jiu Jian Tang Villa, in the Pudong district, is one such development. Yim reinterpreted a traditional garden courtyard house with internal glass walls, an angled roof and cylindrical roof tiles. Its contemporary interior, designed by William Lim, combines traditional style with the accoutrements of modern living. The Bridge 8 in Shanghai is another such development. It's a former carmaking plant that has been redesigned to accommodate a creative community, with steel trusses, skylights, locally sourced grey brickwork and symbolic bridges linking its different areas. 'We want to remind people how to bring older elements into a contemporary environment,' says Daker Tsoi of the Lifestyle Centre, the developer behind the Bridge 8. 'We always keep in mind that developing so-called Chinese culture is not just about taking an old drawing or just putting two Qing dynasty chairs in your living room. It's about how people live, the size of the streets, the spatial rhythms and what they feel comfortable with. These are interesting elements that can be brought into contemporary architecture rather than just using red paint to represent China.' There is also exciting work going on in Beijing. The city's aura of austerity and creative tension has provided architects and designers with an arena in which to create dwellings that mix simplicity, luxury, innovation and tradition. Guan Yi's warehouse and home outside Beijing, for instance, holds one of the largest collections of contemporary Chinese art in the country in a space the size of an aircraft hangar. And Chinese-Japanese photographer couple Rong Rong and inri live in a stylish but spare grey brick duplex in the burgeoning art district of Caochangdi designed by avant-garde artist and self-taught architect Ai Weiwei. And then there's the monumental white stone Green T House pavilion in Beijing's suburbs, which blends minimalist architecture with the traditions of a classic Chinese tea house. Designed by Beijing-based chef and musician JinR, it aims to blend Chinese culture and philosophy with contemporary appeal. Such experimentation is at the forefront of the design movement, with traditional materials and techniques adapted to modern living. Structures such as the villas by Yung Ho Chang and Gary Chang at the Commune by the Great Wall development outside Beijing and the award-winning Villa Shizilin by Yung Ho Chang and Wang Hui near Beijing are built from wood, compressed earth and local stone, and blend in with the environment. Hong Kong has its share of cutting-edge architecture, too, with flats such as Andre Fu's Mid-Levels home, which plays with proportions, Darryl Goveas' edgy flat, which has a rhythm all its own, and James Law's home, which blends cyberspace and real space using innovative materials and technologies. Such breadth of vision says one thing about Chinese design today: expect the unexpected. From modernist villas in the mountains to high-rise condos in the heart of the city; artistic retreats in former industrial areas to garden courtyard houses in the suburbs, the array of modern living options in China is as diverse as the country itself. Sharon Leece is the author of China Living (Periplus Editions)