Forum points way for city to become cultural hub

The forum aims to grow into a platform to display outstanding achievements in the city's cultural construction, exchange experiences in the field, collaborate in cultural innovation and development, and tell China's stories to the world, said a Beijing official.

Another official from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism gave a speech that emphasized the importance of integrating culture and tourism, saying that diversified cultural resources should be used to upgrade tourism products and enhance tourists' travel experiences.

"Tourism development can help to revitalize China's fine traditional culture, carry on the revolutionary culture and promote the advanced socialist culture," he said.

He added that museums, galleries, libraries, theaters and other cultural spaces should be developed into tourist destinations.

In a roundtable discussion, An Laishun, vice-president of the International Council of Museums, said Beijing, a city with 204 museums, seven World Cultural Heritage Sites and more than 3,800 unmovable cultural relics, has the potential to grow into "a city of museums".

Shao Tianshuai, an actress of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre in Beijing, said that as Beijing has made efforts to build itself into China's cultural center, performers get to enjoy a better environment for creating high-quality works.

Shao said she was most interested in the discussion on how to conduct international cultural exchanges and how to carry out the integration of traditional arts and new forms of business. "I'm inspired by the event to continue to play an active role in Beijing's cultural construction, showing the world the charms of Kunqu Opera," she added.