A booth was set up at the 47th WorldSkills Competition in France for visitors to gain a better understanding of Shanghai, the host city for the 48th edition of the event in 2026 and the WorldSkills Museum.

Exhibits include handicraft works on mascots for WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, plus suits and dresses made by time-honored brand Longfeng Changsam. There were also sachets in various shapes made with skills recognized as cultural heritage in Shanghai.

A multimedia section introduced the WorldSkills Museum located in Shanghai.

Visitors could also try their hands at making knot buttons, a unique style of button for Changsam, which attracted many people to the event.

Young visitors were keen to try timed based activities such as Lu Ban puzzle, with many spending almost an hour in dissembling and rebuilding the structures to win souvenirs. A Lu Ban puzzle, or Lu Ban lock, is a type of toy believed to have been invented 1,800 years ago by Zhuge Liang, who applied master carpenter Lu Ban’s techniques in building mortise-and-tenon joint structures.

The mascots of the 48th WorldSkills Competition hold Lu Ban locks in their hands in a nod to the artisanship of traditional Chinese carpentry.

Isis Poggiolni, a 20-year-old French volunteer, tried more than an hour and solved the Lu Ban puzzle with assistance from the booth staff.

“It’s my first time to play with this toy. I would like to win it as a gift for my 13-year-old brother,” she said. “It’s interesting, pretty complicated, and challenging.”