Ancient culture flourishes in East China's Tongxiang

City with history dating back 7,000 years takes steps to actively protect its intangible heritage and further develop the region's creative industry

The people of Tongxiang in East China's Zhejiang province, which boasts a history dating back more than 7,000 years, are justifiably proud of their city's culture and are taking steps to actively protect its cultural heritage.

The Grand Canal, part of which runs through the city, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014. Wuzhen, an ancient part of the city, and another 13 ancient towns within the city's boundaries are also preparing to apply for inscription on the World Heritage List.

Intangible heritages

Tongxiang abounds in intangible cultural heritage, including three that have been listed at the national level and 20 provincial-level items. A series of intangible cultural heritage halls have been built in Tongxiang to display handicrafts, train apprentices, hold exchange activities and allow tourists to experience the skills.

City leaders are attempting to build a training system for inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and have organized the "national intangible cultural heritage inheritors dialogue" for two consecutive years.

"Our Festival", a series of intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and performances, has been held in Tonxiang, along with a number of other activities, to teach traditional skills. The series was commended by the Zhejiang provincial government in 2012 for its effort in protecting intangible cultural heritage items by applying for inclusions on important intangible cultural heritage lists.

The city is home to many noted people such as writer and cultural critic Mao Dun, comic artist Feng Zikai, photographer Xu Xiaobing, international studies expert Jin Zhonghua, writer and painter Mu Xin, founder of the influential publisher Zhonghua Book Company Lu Feikui and Mao Weitao, performing artist of Yueju Opera.

Based on the city's profound culture around famous people, related memorial halls and namesake schools have been built, including the memorial halls of Mao Dun and Feng Zikai. Tongxiang also organized theme studies of culture around famous people and established 14 such teams.

In recent years, Tongxiang has seen remarkable achievements in Chinese comics - also known as manhua, calligraphy, photography, literature, martial arts, theater and seal carving.

Cultural works

Tongxiang has hosted international and national cultural events, such as the Wuzhen Theatre Festival and the Future of Go Summit in Wuzhen, to promote cultural communication and make Tongxiang more famous and influential.

The local government also supports raising the awareness of Chinese culture among the public. The Tongxiang Cultural Center was completed and opened to the public in 2013, and the new Tongxiang Library is now under construction.

The city has built 17 diverse cultural venues and 11 cultural and sports centers across its townships and sub-districts.

All the local villages and communities have comprehensive cultural service centers.

Annually, more than 500 cultural events are held to benefit local people and more than 3,000 films are screened. Grassroots cultural events have been organized, such as Spring Festival galas, talents shows and grassland music festivals.

The local government encourages its people to take part in cultural activities. There are more than 700 amateur cultural and art groups.

Tongxiang now houses 22 literary and art associations and research societies with 1,981 members. It also pays attention to the creation and production of high-quality cultural works and has issued supporting policies in support of such activities. It has set up two literature and art awards, and several pieces of literature, calligraphy and paintings, theater and dance have won major national and provincial prizes and financial support.

Creative industries

The city has seen its cultural industry prosper in recent years and has formed a cultural industry system where sectors such as tourism and internet information services are key. The government's priorities also include creative design, modern media, film and television and convention and exhibition services.

Tongxiang's cultural tourism sector, in which Wuzhen is a star, has developed rapidly and the number of visitors and tourism revenue continue to increase. Last year, Tongxiang received more than 20.3 million tourist trips, leading to revenue of 24.4 billion yuan ($3.5 billion).

There are 108 large cultural companies in Tongxiang, 23 of which have revenue from main business sectors surpassing 100 million yuan each, and two have revenue exceeding 500 million yuan. This has made the cultural sector a new engine and pillar industry for the city's economic development.

Tongxiang is now home to more than 400 companies related to the internet information service industry, and has attracted many major projects such as a large data transaction center and an intellectual property trading center.

The government helps local companies strengthen their brands. Tongxiang is home to more than 200 design companies and has hosted activities including a national knitting design competition and a shoe design contest.

Tongxiang is also a popular venue for conventions and exhibitions. It has hosted the annual World Internet Conference in Wuzhen since 2014, as well as noted automakers' new car launch ceremonies and diverse cultural and art exhibitions and performances. More than 1,000 conventions and exhibitions were held there in 2017.

In recent years, the local government has been actively building industrial platforms to increase the standards of professionalism. A cultural and creative industry park has attracted more than 10 cultural companies, and several key projects have been completed.