Author / Lin Jiliang

From "Scaling Up the Industry" to "Redefining Light"

— A Night in Ningbo, Discussing the Past, Present, and Future of China's Lighting Industry with Wu Changjiang and Hong Bing

The night in Ningbo.

A few cups of tea.

Several cameras overheated due to long recording sessions.

Even the fill lights ran out of battery late at night.

A conversation originally expected to be completed in one hour,

ultimately lasted for more than two hours.

And the three people in this conversation—

Wu Changjiang,Hong Bing, and myself.

To some extent, it also happens to represent three perspectives from different eras of China's lighting industry.

The World of a Generation of Lighting Professionals

Mr. Hong Bing has always been like an observer who has long documented China’s lighting industry.

Over the years, “China Lighting Network” has recorded the rise and fall of too many enterprises, and has also witnessed the process of China’s lighting industry evolving from a local industry into a global manufacturing center.

And Mr. Wu Changjiang.

For many Chinese lighting professionals, this name is almost more than just an entrepreneur.

To some extent, he represents an era.

It was a period of rapid growth for China's lighting industry.

Channels, brands, manufacturing, and retail terminals.

Everything was expanding rapidly.

It was also a crucial phase in which China's lighting industry gradually evolved from being "small and fragmented" toward nationwide presence, branding, and scale.

During the conversation, Chairman Wu recalled many past experiences.

Discussing the era.

Discussing the market.

Discussing (Sales) channels.

Also discussing why NVC Lighting was able to succeed back then.

He does not shy away from his ambitions.

Even today, he still uses "50 billion in five years" as the new brand blueprint.

This ambition is frank and direct.

And this may well be the most distinctive trait of a generation of entrepreneurs.

China's lighting industry has completed the phase of "scaling up"

But the truly interesting part of this dialogue is not just about looking back at history.

Rather:

Now that China's lighting industry has completed the phase of "scaling up",

what exactly is the next step?

In recent years, I have frequently traveled between Asia and Europe.

From my past experience at LEDVANCE participating in the global transformation of lighting enterprises, to my recent involvement in WELL, Human centric lighting (HCL), and healthy light environment initiatives, I have increasingly come to realize one thing:

The lighting Industry is entering a new phase.

Over the past thirty years, the industry has addressed:

• Whether there are lights
• Whether they are bright enough
• Is it affordable enough?
• Can it scale up quickly?

But in the next decade, the questions may be changing.

People are starting to ask:

• Is this light comfortable?
• Does it affect sleep?
• Does it affect mood and focus?
• Does the light in the space truly understand "people"?

This is also why, in recent years, there has been extensive global discussion:

• Human Centric Lighting (HCL)
• WELL
• Circadian Lighting (Circadian Rhythm Lighting)
• Healthy Building
• Mood and Circadian Rhythm
• Measurable, Verifiable Light Environment

And these issues are gradually changing the original logic of the lighting industry.

Europe, the US, and China see different problems.

During the conversation, I also shared an important observation.

There are actually very objective differences between the Chinese market and the European and American markets.

The European and American markets entered maturity earlier.

Therefore, they started thinking earlier:

• Health
• Human Factors
• Emotion
• Spatial Experience
• Standards and Verification

However, the Chinese market has long remained in a stage of rapid growth and efficiency competition.

Therefore, what many companies still focus on first is:

• Cost
• (Sales) channel
• Delivery
• Scale
• Survival

There is no right or wrong here.

Because that is the inevitable result of different industry stages.

But precisely because of this,

China's lighting industry may usher in new opportunities in the next phase.

Because today's China already possesses:

• The most complete global supply chain
• Mature and vast manufacturing capabilities
• Huge application market
• Rapid iteration capabilities in new media and new retail
• The foundation for intelligent and scenario-based implementation

And as "health" begins to become the next generation of demand,

the Chinese market may well have the opportunity to redefine lighting for the next decade.

Human-centric models and spatial models are the next key

In our dialogue, I also discussed a reflection that has deepened in recent years.

What truly matters for future lighting may not be just a single luminaire.

Rather:

How to establish a new model between “people” and “space.”

This means:

Light is no longer just about luminance.

Instead:

• Spectrum
• Intensity
• Time
• Rhythm
• Space
• Activity
• Mood
• Physiological response

How they jointly form a new lighting environment system.

Therefore, I have always believed:

The next generation of the lighting Industry,

what truly needs to be established is not just products.

But rather:

• Human-centric model
• Spatial model
• Scenario Model
• Validation Model
• Standards and Data Protocols

This may well be the core that allows healthy lighting to truly take root.

Without measurement, healthy lighting tends to remain a concept.

Without a model, it is difficult to form a methodology for healthy lighting.

Without standards, healthy lighting is hard to deliver, validate, and replicate.

This is also one of the key areas I have focused on in recent years while working with GLGA and LRS.

We need to move "good light" from a slogan to a methodology.

From feeling to data.

From individual products to systems.

From isolated cases to a new order adoptable by the Industry.

Big Health, Intelligence, and New Retail: New Opportunities Seen by Chairman Wu

What impressed me deeply was that Chairman Wu did not just stay in the past.

He spoke very directly.

In the new era, new media, new retail, a mature supply chain, and a highly crowded market are reshaping the way competition works in the lighting industry.

And the growth potential he sees is precisely concentrated in several key directions:

Health and wellness.

Intelligence.

New scenarios.

New channels.

New brand scale.

This is truly worth reflecting on.

Because the Chinese lighting market does not lack products.

Nor does it lack supply chains.

And it certainly does not lack speed.

What is truly scarce may be:

Whether we can reorganize new demands to

form new brand narratives, product capabilities, and market order.

Healthy light, Human centric lighting (HCL), and smart scenes, if they are just concepts, will of course be easily consumed by the market.

But if they can be combined with real needs, verifiable data, and perceptible experiences,

they could become the entry point for the next round of growth in the lighting industry.

The world remains, only the times have changed

In this conversation, there is a very special feeling.

We discuss the Industry.

We discuss the market.

We discuss the future.

But to some extent, what we are discussing is also the thirty-year journey of China's lighting industry.

Some have come from the wild early days.

Some have stumbled through globalization.

And others are trying to find the direction for the next generation of lighting.

Chairman Wu talks about order, and also about the江湖 (jianghu).

Mr. Hong Bing speaks gently and persuasively.

I try to add some different observations from new standards, new models, and a new global perspective.

The perspectives of the three individuals differ.

However, what they truly share is a common concern:

Where exactly should China's lighting industry head next?

Times have changed.

But the passion of lighting professionals seems unchanged.

Two hours later.

Camera overheated.

Fill light out of power.

Ningbo late at night gradually becomes quiet.

But that night, I could still clearly feel:

China’s lighting industry may still be far from its end.

The real next round of competition,

may have just begun.

Conclusion: From scale to value

Over the past thirty years, China's lighting industry has accomplished something remarkable:

Scaling up the industry.

But in the next decade, what truly matters may be:

How to make light right again.

Not just brighter.

Not just cheaper.

Not just smarter.

Instead, it brings light back to people, spaces, life, emotions, and health itself.

From scale to value.

From products to systems.

From lighting to light environments.

From manufacturing capability to standards and influence.

This may well be the next true upgrade for China's lighting industry.

That night in Ningbo,

was filled with the light of lighting professionals.

Lawrence Lin
Former CEO of LEDVANCE
Founder of Lighting Recipe Studio
Initiator of the Greater Asia Light & Health Alliance (GLGA)

"We do not just illuminate spaces; we redefine the relationship between light and people."