Capital delegation shines at Shenzhen cultural industries fair

Host of innovative displays turn heads at international extravaganza, Chen Hong reports.

Already at 6 years old little Wu Yuhan is a big trainspotter, with a collection of more than 100 toy trains and models at home. No surprise, then, the boy kept his eyes wide open while standing in front of exhibits from the China Railway Museum.

The museum in Beijing, together with 26 cultural entities and companies, joined a delegation from the capital to display their wares and projects in the 14th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair.

The extravaganza ran from May 10 to 14, in the southern city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

"The train models are very beautiful," the excited boy said. "They'll soon launch the latest model of Fuxing train. I can't wait."

The Fuxing train, also known as Rejuvenation, is the latest and fastest type of bullet train from China with world-beating technologies.

Wu Yuhan's father said they now planned to visit the museum in Beijing during the summer vacation, to learn about China's railway history and the evolution of trains.

Many visitors shared a similar experience with the boy and his father when visiting the Beijing stand. Located in Hall 1 of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, they were attracted by the exhibits of creative ideas and refined designs.

The Beijing delegation to the fair, one of China's biggest cultural events, comprised six museums, companies and other entities. Delegates were involved in the fields of art, media and publishing, broadcast and television, software networks, design and the artwork business.

With the theme of promoting the development of a national cultural center that is driven by innovation, the Beijing delegation showcased the latest achievements of the capital in the sectors of cultural space, cultural technology and cultural services.

One of the participants was a thriving cultural and art hub known to Beijing residents and visitors as 751 D-Park.

Transformed from old factories and using the equipment of a major electronic power group in Beijing that was established in the 1950s, it has attracted 1,500 or so designers and 130 studios.

The place has been turned into an industrial park that focuses on fashion design, interior design, media and film, as well as technological innovation.

Another renewal project that participated in the Shenzhen cultural fair was iTown, a glass factory that invited five leading Chinese and international architects to turn it into an industrial park for the cultural and creative industry.

"It's our first time at the fair and we attracted the interests of companies with intellectual property products to set up their regional headquarters or studios in iTown," said Zhang Hetong, the project's marketing manager.

According to the delegation, the Beijing municipal government issued a guideline in 2017 to encourage companies to turn old facilities and warehouses into new urban cultural spaces.

Innovation was another highlight of the delegation.

Daxing Library, a district-level library in Beijing, has cooperated with a high-tech company that provides systematic solutions for physical bookstores and libraries to launch 24-hour self-services.

Both the library and the company, Leiter, joined the delegation to the fair.

According to the company, Leiter plans to set up public libraries in shopping malls when the self-service solutions are further refined.

As China's cultural center, Beijing recorded more than 390 billion yuan ($61.2 billion) in added value from its cultural and creative industry last year, accounting for 14 percent of its GDP in 2017.

Contact the writer at chenhong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/18/2018 page10)