SYLVIA VETTA reviews China Design Now, reflecting the impact of the major economic changes in the country

To understand the design revolution that is taking place in China, it helps to picture a popular cartoon that appeared soon after the Cultural Revolution that began in country in the 1960s.

When Mao died in 1976, it was possible to poke fun at the past. The cartoonist drew a family from the baby to the grandfather. Each of them was dressed identically - all Chinese wore the same proletarian uniform. In the 1980s, the new leader, Deng Xiao Ping, began the economic revolution and a new joke became current. Deng stands at a fork in the road. There are two arrows: one to the left saying socialism, and one to the right saying capitalism. He simply moves the socialist sign and points it up the capitalist road. Yet while production boomed design lagged behind.

The first design show to reflect the changes that finally emerged was in 1992. The iconic poster at the start of this exhibition has two legs inter-twining, one leg wears western trousers and the other colourful pre-revolutionary Chinese trousers. Until then consumer choice was regarded as non-socialist.

The opening gallery at the V&A illustrates how modern graphic design spread from magazine covers to co-operatives, websites and rave concerts.

The story begins in the so-called Frontier City of Shenzhen. It is the largest manufacturing city in the world and the average age is 27. In the cities of the two Asian giants of India and China the indelible impression is one of youth and energy.

If you can't visit China then this show will give a sense of its global creative force.

China Design Now is in fact a tale of three cities. The middle gallery is Shanghai. The story there starts with the 1930s Paris of the Orient. This is the arena for lifestyle and fashion. I loved the ceramics of Lin Jing which have a art deco feel to them. In fact, nostalgia is the atmosphere of this gallery. On the outskirts of Shanghai there is a model settlement called Thames Town. It is like a Disney version of the Thames Valley. It is easy to understand in the futurist landscapes of Chinese cities that this appeals to families.

The third and Future City' is Beijing. We shall see a great deal of the iconic buildings, filmed and modelled for this gallery, when the Olympics take place in August. The giant structures are mostly designed by international firms, who only started operating in the country in 1990s, such as Foster and Partners stunning airport, and Herzog and de Meuron's Birds Nest', the new National Stadium.

The exhibition design by Tonkin Liu is superb. They have used mirrors to create the effect of water around the large model of the China Central Television headquarters. China is a huge country and the entrance gives the impression of size and space. Their design is vertical as is modern China.

There are two elements that pleased me but they are inspired by the past. One is the calligraphy. Calligraphy is an art form as well as a script. Han Jianing was an avant-garde poster artist. His designs for the 50th anniversary exhibition of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are on display. He faxed 30 sheets of A4 for each poster. The Japanese gallery pasted them together to make big calligraphic symbols of each city's name except they were fractured. Brilliant!

Among the huge projects in the architecture section are two small houses. One called Father's House and the other the Split House. These two gave me hope that a little of ancient China may survive the bulldozers and begin a renaissance.

Father's House is inspired by traditional courtyard dwellings but is in a contemporary style using inexpensive materials. One could imagine it revitalising the countryside.

Split House, I assume, was for a wealthier family. Its location is next to the Great Wall, backing on to wooded hills. It has elements of Daoism - man living in harmony with nature. The architect, Yung Ho Chang, designed the site without destroying the woodland. The house is shaped like a pair of open scissors, with trees growing in the traditional courtyard where the two structures join.

In Shenzhen' there is a sad video of a fleamarket that grew up around an outdoor pop concert, MIDI 2006. The vendors were selling their own designs but were ousted by promoters of large companies. In contrast there is sweet website called Tudou or potato' that you can click onto which gives individuals a chance.

In the time of Mao, culture was politically driven. Free thought and design ruthlessly crushed. The young were encouraged to smash the old and they did, destroying so much of beauty from the past. I hope that the originality and human spirit evident in this show is not crushed by the commercial juggernaut.

China Design Now is at the V&A in South Kensington, London, until July 13. For information call 020 7942 2000 or visit the www.chinanow.org website.