The Foundation organized lectures on tour in Mainland China from 1994 to 1998. A total of 2078 top-level managers from well-known enterprises took part in the training. The feedback from the participants was very positive. They in general felt that the workshops broadened their vision, especially on the international development in industrial design, and helped them to enhance the competitiveness of home products in international markets.

Even though the outcome of these lectures was significant, it was difficult to sustain their impact due to the constant change in venues. In order to make better use of resources, the Foundation decided to establish high quality industrial training centres to provide advanced and high quality training programs at fixed location.

Among the many proposals submitted, the Foundation, after careful consideration, decided in 1999 to sponsor the establishment of three industrial training centres in China, i.e. the Huazhong University of Science and Technology at Wuhan, Hubei, to serve the central region of Mainland China; the Southern Yangtze University (Former Wuxi University of Light Industry) in Wuxi, Jiangsu to serve the eastern region and the Northwestern Polytechnic University of Xian, Shaanxi to provide industrial design training in the north-western regions of Mainland China. Agreements with the three universities were signed on August 20, 1999 in Beijing.

To meet the Foundation's requirements, the three training centres were established in 2000 to introduce quality training courses of international standard with the collaboration of reputable overseas universities as well as universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Foundation hopes that local faculty members can teach some of the courses after completing appropriate training so as to localize some of the courses according to industrial demands.

The Foundation has committed up to HK$10 million to cover the operation costs of the “Chiang Chen Foundation Industrial Training Centre at Huazhong University of Science and Technology” in the first three years. The Foundation also contributed to both Northwestern Polytechnic University and Jiangnan University HK$3 million each to cover costs for the first three years at their “Chiang Chen Foundation Industrial Design Training Centres”. These operating costs cover the salaries of overseas instructors, the introduction of overseas module-type courses, overseas training for local staff, and the purchase of teaching and research equipment. From the year 2000 to the end of 2003, the three training centres provided 166 training courses and invited experts from the U.K., US, Germany, Japan, Italy and Holland to give lectures on industrial management and industrial design. Three activities have gained attention and drawn positive feedback from business circles. During these years, over 60,000 people took part in the training courses.