China's cultural industry sees fast revenue growth in Q1

BEIJING - The combined revenue of companies in China's cultural industry rose 10.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2018, partly driven by strong growth in news information services, data showed Monday.

The sector's combined revenue reached 1.91 trillion yuan (about $301 billion) in Q1, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

The NBS tracks some 57,000 companies across nine cultural sectors, including firms offering cultural services and those involved in the manufacturing of cultural products.

Revenue from news information services increased the most by 34.6 percent year on year, while cultural investment, creative design and manufacturing of cultural content also saw double-digit growth.

The country's eastern regions contributed 76.1 percent of the overall cultural revenue in Q1, the NBS said.