Shanghai unveils ambitious plans for cultural and creative industry
The output of Shanghai's creative design industry amounted to 1.64 trillion yuan (US$236.5 billion) last year, up 1.17 percent from a year earlier, revealing the tenacity and vitality of the industry's development, a conference heard on Wednesday.
Among this, the output of industrial design hit 207.4 billion yuan, and architecture design 294.6 billion yuan, the conference on the city's cultural and creative industry development revealed.
Fashion and creation industry had 214.3 billion yuan, with digital design 678.9 billion yuan and clothing design 244.9 billion yuan.
Shanghai will step up efforts in developing new digital cultural and creative products, cultivating new digital cultural and creative business modes and forming a cluster of digital cultural and creative firms this year, the conference heard.
Last year, the cultural and creative industry accounted for 13 percent of the city's gross domestic product, while the value created by each employee in this sector amounted to 1.7 million yuan.
A file photo of some cultural and creative products designed for a post office on Wukang Road
According to this year's development blueprint of Shanghai's cultural and creative industry mapped out during the conference, the city will beef up research on new technologies, new business models and new trends in the cultural and creative sector, and accelerate the development of emerging industries such as digital economy, low-carbon and metaverse.
New digital cultural and creative business modes such as blockchain, smart tourism, digital animation, and VR games will be cultivated.
The aim is to spur the innovation vitality of cultural and creative enterprises, and promote the continuous upgrade of the industry and its consumption, officials said.
Shanghai is transforming itself into an international culture metropolis and an international design, fashion and brand capital, and the cultural and creative industry is an important part of the efforts.
Construction of key projects such as the West Bund Media Harbor, the Legoland Shanghai Resort, and the NetEase Shanghai International Culture and Innovation Science and Technology Park will be accelerated, and an innovation incubation system of cultural and creative enterprises in the city will be established.
Preferential policies to boost the industry's development and investment will be released.
A raft of festivals and exhibitions such as ChinaJoy, the Yangtze River Delta International Cultural Industries Expo, the Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Shanghai Fashion Week and the Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week will be held, and debut economy, brand economy, night economy and livestreaming economy will be developed, spurring the construction of an international consumption capital and an international exhibition capital.
Financing service for small- and medium-sized cultural and creative firms will be further improved.
