Culture a powerful driving force for economy and innovation

Wuxi National High-tech District has been pursuing the development of high-quality culture, which is seen as an important aspect of a healthy overall economy, officials said.

In recent years, Wuxi National High-tech District, also known as WND, has been actively integrating its cultural resources and vigorously bolstering its culture industry.

The management committee of WND focuses on the cultivation of new business models that integrate the internet into the culture industry with new media, film, television and animation as core.

Cultural and creative industries are green and low-carbon, and have broad prospects. They are the core of high-growth service industries. They have unique value and an important role in optimizing economic structure, improving the quality of development and promoting sustainable development, officials said.

At present, Wuxi National Software Park, widely referred to as I-Park, is home to about 700 related cultural enterprises, with a total of more than 30,000 employees. These enterprises come from various segments of the industry, such as new media, internet advertising, online games and internet film.

It also includes a batch of key cultural and creative enterprises, whose output value is more than 100 million yuan ($14.93 million), such as adSage, CNTV and Ciwen Media.

As a national cultural industry demonstration base, I-Park has played a leading role in promoting industry development. The cultural industry at I-Park has maintained rapid growth for years. In 2018, the total output value of the park's enterprises reached 20.2 billion yuan and the total tax revenue reached 1 billion yuan.

In recent years, I-Park has also worked to create a favorable atmosphere for industry innovation and entrepreneurship, such as introducing professional service providers for startups, organizing competitions, forums and summits to expand brand influence, and supporting enterprises that apply for specialized industry funds.

Meanwhile, a human resources platform, built and operated by I-Park, enables enterprises to enjoy a series of services, such as using recruitment management software, sharing a resume pool and enjoying packaged-subsidy and group purchase discount prices.

Based on its abundant historic and cultural resources, WND has also vigorously developed its leisure tourism industry and is attempting to make that industry more diversified.

WND has promoted the construction of a series of cultural tourism projects, such as the Chinese Stone Garden and Erhu Cultural Park. Each year, it also holds a Wu Culture Festival, Taibo Culture Festival and Wu Culture-themed seminars and exhibitions.

"The organic integration of tourism and culture has increasingly attracted more visitors. It is an engine to broaden the tourism market, and to promote industrial upgrading and improve competitiveness, and create social and economic value," an official said.

The local government is also working to build a cultural town in Meicun town. The Meili Town is intended to be a demonstration area of traditional culture promotion and development to carry forward the Wu culture.

Meicun town, also known as Meili in ancient times, is the birthplace of Wu culture. It is also renowned for being the home of the erhu, the traditional Chinese musical instrument often referred to as the "Chinese fiddle".

With a total planning area of 4 square kilometers, the cultural town will be divided into Meili Ancient Town, an agricultural area and the Bodu River cultural experience area.

Meili Ancient Town's will be anchored by the Taibo Temple, which will stage cultural shows. Five cultural platforms will also be built to show the customs, intangible cultural heritage and history of Wu culture.

The agricultural area will focus on displaying the achievement of traditional industries and green technology upgrading in Meicun town. Bodu River cultural experience area is designed to show the life of the watery region.

In addition to building the cultural town, WND also promotes the town's erhu culture, striving to revitalize traditional ethnic cultural industries. Through strengthening industrial development planning, WND will build an Erhu Cultural Creative Park and an Erhu Cultural Industrial Park.

In addition, WND has also accelerated its pace of promoting high-end cultural manufacturing industry upgrading.

In recent years, WND has gathered a batch of cultural goods, equipment and related cultural manufacturing industries.

With the rapid development of new-generation information technology, WND is actively promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional cultural manufacturing industries. The research and development, product design, brand, marketing channels, management and financial services of the industry have been given greater importance.

(China Daily 03/06/2019 page18)