Shanghai makes quick progress in arts hub ambition

Just two years after Shanghai announced its goal of building itself into a performing arts hub for Asia, the number of theaters, seats and performances in Shanghai in 2019 reached levels similar to those in New York's Broadway and London's West End, according to a report.

Published on Thursday by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), the report also stated that Shanghai, which has close to 200 professional theaters, has one of largest number of performance spaces among Chinese cities.

"However, improvements can still be made in terms of producing original content and building a better name card internationally," said Hua Jian, a researcher with the Institute of Literature of SASS and a leading researcher on the team that produced the Annual Report on Cultural Development of Shanghai (2019).

Hua also suggested that the city should make further efforts to strengthen industrial agglomeration and produce signature performances that are of international standards.

The report is part of a series of blue books on Shanghai's cultural development. It was also published by the SASS on Thursday.

Another report in the series pointed out that several movies produced in Shanghai last year touched upon social reforms and issues that are relatable to the public.

A total of 102 movies were produced in Shanghai in 2019. These movies had a combined box office revenue of 520 billion yuan ($73 billion), accounting for 12.7 percent of the national total.