Creating creativity

Hangzhou expands its creative and cultural industries on its mission to nationally and internationally lead in the sectors. Shi Jing reports.

Zhejiang province's capital Hangzhou is pushing to recreate its creative industries and cultivate its cultural enterprises. In 2007, the local government set the goal of making Hangzhou the national hub of creative and cultural industries.

In 2008, it upped the ante and announced it would transform the city into a globally leading center in these fields.

The Yangtze River Delta Region Plan, approved by the State Council in 2010, says Hangzhou's cultural and creative industries serve the city's primary functions. The plan officially made the local ambitions national aspirations.

The sectors account for an average of 6.4 percent of the city's GDP growth.

The industries increased by about 70.2 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in value to account for 11.8 percent of the local GDP. The sectors' growth exceeded those of overall GDP by 4.2 percent and the service industry by 3.9 percent.

Last year, 42 cartoon projects were produced in Hangzhou. That's 35,008 minutes of footage, 27.7 percent more than in 2009.

It is the second time Hangzhou has taken the top spot in China's annual cartoon production.

Hangzhou also sold 47 original cartoons to 90 countries and regions in 2010, earning $11.92 million in overseas sales. That's 86 percent more than in 2009.

The city government has designated a special fund for creative and cultural industries' development. Its 2011 budget is about 411 million yuan.

And 10 cultural and creative parks were completed in Hangzhou in 2010. They cover 1.24 million square meters, an increase of 85.01 percent.

The number of companies entering the parks has grown by 71.68 percent to 1,437, 600 more than last year. And the number of people working in the parks grew by 53.5 percent to 23,074 in 2010.

In addition, 10 incubator bases have been set up for university graduates willing to found cultural and creative companies. And 14 training centers have provided courses for 5,148 people. The municipal government organized 12 lectures on creativity for about 15,000 audience members in 2010.

The West Lake Creative Market and the Cool-Mind Fair, held every January, has become the platform for young designers and university students to demonstrate their talent and start their own companies.

The cultural and creative parks scattered throughout Hangzhou have already attracted celebrities from home and abroad. These include the father of creative industry John Howkins, Taiwan-based playwright Lai Sheng-chuan and author Yu Hua.

Hangzhou hosts five international cartoon bases and five national cultural industry demonstration bases. The number of national cartoon bases is the country's highest.

IT service provider Insigma Technology, e-commerce giant Alibaba.com and Zhejiang Zhongnan Construction Group are listed among the Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises.

Zhejiang's booming cultural and creative industries have also won the confidence of the province's financial institutions.

The city government has helped secure 15 billion yuan in investment for 1,360 cultural and creative projects. It also signed strategic financing cooperation agreements with nine financial institutions, including the Bank of Hangzhou, to guarantee support for the sectors.

Local exhibitions have attracted national attention.

The China International Comic and Animation Festival (CICAF) has been held in the city for seven consecutive years. The 7th CICAF, staged from April 28 until May 3, attracted 425 companies from 54 countries and regions, representing respective annual increases of 15 percent and 16 percent.

A total of 2.02 million people attended the latest CICAF, bringing sales up to 12.8 billion yuan - about 20 percent more than the 6th CICAF.

Hangzhou has also run four China Hangzhou Cultural and Creative Industry Expos (CCIC). About 300,000 players from 16 countries and regions attended last year's expo. A total of 36 projects generated by the event brought in 3.2 billion yuan in sales.

The municipal government has also worked to cultivate talent and has set aside 30 million yuan to discover young artists.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page68)