City of Hibiscus puts creative thinking cap on to spur growth

The development of the creative industry in Chengdu, also known as the City of Hibiscus, will be expanded to a new level, fueling overall economic growth, according to officials.

The city government said at a new economy conference held on Nov 9 that it will focus on the development of six major related sectors in the coming years, including the creative industry.

Chengdu plans to highlight the cultivation of the intellectual property economy in fields such as music making, mobile and video games, history and literature, and film and animation production.

Officials said it will continue to make efforts to become a model for the digital creative industry in China and a leading international music city, by organizing high-quality activities.

These will include the International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Chengdu Creativity and Design Week, and the International Music Industry Expo.

The fourth Chengdu Creativity and Design Week was held from Nov 10-13 at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center.

A creativity index system was released at the event, revealing that Chengdu's cultural and creative industries are at the forefront of development and economic growth, ranking No 3 in the country, after Beijing and Shanghai.

The Chengdu Creativity and Design Week also ranked No 3 nationwide, showing a huge potential for future growth of the city's new economy.

This year's event attracted about 155,000 visitors, and contracts worth a total 3.56 billion yuan ($538.89 million) were signed.

It featured a raft of diverse activities, such as an industrial expo, an international design forum and the Golden Panda Cultural and Creative Design Award.

International pavilions were set up at the industrial expo for the first time, attracting nearly 1,000 designers and 700 agencies from over 20 countries and regions, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and Sweden.

Su Tong, director of the Creative City Design Center's experts committee, believes Chengdu is an ideal place for designers and innovators.

"The city has obvious advantages in developing its cultural and creative industries, as it has been an important city throughout its history," Su said.

"Chengdu could become a development model of China's new economy by focusing on the creative industries as an important strategy for future growth," Su added.

Zhang Lan, public relations director at Skymoons, a local mobile game developer with an estimated value of $615 million, said he expected a stronger entertainment industry chain in Chengdu with increasing original content.

(China Daily 12/08/2017 page7)