Shanghai will promote 50 local time-honored brands over the next three years, thepaper.cn reported Sunday. According to Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the city now boasts 222 time-honored brands. Among them, 180 enterprises are identified as "China Time-honored Brand" by the Ministry of Commerce of China, ranking first across the country.

Shanghai has also made an investigation into the development and history of these brands to save, improve and develop its time-honored brands. The city will enhance the international competitiveness of a batch leading companies, such as Brightdairy and Jahwa, to expand into overseas markets.

It plans to encourage excellent brands including bike manufacturer Phoenix to take the lead nationwide. Some traditional skills and techniques, like making qipao (traditional skirts) will also be protected and promoted with talent and capital investment.