"In the Name of Literature" Why has the Cultural Expo moved the world with "literature" for twenty years?

From the "lonely smoke in the desert" to the poetic Jiangnan, from the snowy plateau to the "rain hitting the banana trees". On May 23, the 20th China International Cultural Industry Expo and Trade Fair was held at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center. A cultural integration event that brings together the cultural essence of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the world's top cultural enterprises kicked off here.

Someone described the CIIE this way: You don’t have to run around to see all of China in one day. Here, digital creativity is so magical, culture and technology are integrated and innovative, and intangible cultural heritage traditions are full of vitality.

New technologies, new products, new business formats, and new models are like wonderful notes that overlap and blend together, playing the new "march" for the high-quality development of China's cultural industry.

Hundreds of activities, thousands of booths, crowds of people, and exhibitors from more than 100 countries and regions have gathered to form this "No. 1 Exhibition of China's Cultural Industry."

Here, Chinese culture is shown to the world, and this ancient but prosperous Eastern country with five thousand years of civilization is also shown to the world. Here, culture blends with culture; here, ideas and souls collide; here, tradition and trends, vitality and creativity, heritage and charm achieve each other.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his report at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. Culture revitalizes a country and its fortunes prosper, and a strong culture strengthens a nation. Without a high degree of cultural self-confidence and cultural prosperity, there will be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

In 2004, cultures from all over the world gathered in Shenzhen along routes, tracks, aviation, and traveled thousands of miles. Like petals, they gathered together to form the colorful "flower of culture" of the CIIF.

As the "first exhibition of China's cultural industry", the 20 years of the CIIF's development have also been the "golden age" for the rapid development of Guangdong and even China's cultural industry.

In the past 20 years, the exhibition scale of the CIIF has increased from 45,000 square meters in the first session to 160,000 square meters; the number of offline exhibitors has increased from more than 700 in the first session to 3,076; the number of participating countries and regions has increased from 10 in the first session to 108; it attracts More than 100,000 cultural and creative products at home and abroad and more than 4,000 cultural industry investment and financing projects are displayed and traded in more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

Over the past 20 years, the national trend of intangible cultural heritage has been revitalized, digital creativity has flourished, and cultural brands have continued to empower brands to go global. The degree of internationalization and transaction results have increased year by year, becoming an important engine leading the development of China's cultural industry, an important platform to promote Chinese culture going global, and an important window to expand cultural opening to the outside world.

Over the past 20 years, new cultural formats, new scenes, new applications, and new concepts have continuously emerged at the CIIF, which has gradually become a cultural event that the common people love to see.

In fact, the establishment of the CIIE in Shenzhen has not been smooth sailing. As early as that year, many people believed that Shenzhen was a special economic zone and did not have as much historical and cultural heritage as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and other cities. Was the location of the CIIE in Shenzhen "insufficient in heritage"?

However, while reform and opening up has brought a spring tide of development to the city of Shenzhen, it has also brought countless "trendy people" who are pursuing their dreams. This city has brought together "dream chasers" from all over the world. People from different places bring diverse cultural backgrounds, and this has also given birth to Shenzhen's broad mind of being "tolerant of all rivers and inclusive".

Local culture and foreign culture collide here, historical precipitation and trend innovation blend. This city is like a "melting pot" of cultures. Multiculturalism is increasingly becoming the “new business card” of Shenzhen’s shining city.

Looking back, the birth of the CIIF is the product of the integration of national strategy and culture under the background of China's reform and opening up.

In November 2002, the report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed for the first time "actively developing cultural undertakings and cultural industries" and identified the development of cultural industries as an important strategy for building a well-off society in an all-round way.

In 2003, Shenzhen took the lead in the country in proposing the strategy of "building a city with culture". Taking into account the characteristics of industrial development and the location advantages of being adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, Shenzhen decided to hold cultural fairs starting in 2004.

As a product of the innovative development of my country's cultural industry, the first CIIE has attracted great attention. It has been hosted by Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, and then the country, becoming the first national, international, and comprehensive cultural exhibition.

It is worth mentioning that the full name of the first cultural expo is "Shenzhen International Cultural Industry Expo". Starting from the second session, the CIIF was renamed as China International Cultural Industry Expo and Trade Fair. Although there is only the word "transaction" added, it is of great significance. It also marks that "marketization" has increasingly become one of the main themes of this cultural feast.

Over the past 20 years, Shenzhen's cultural industry has maintained a rapid development momentum of more than 15% per year. The added value of the cultural industry has increased from 16.3 billion yuan in 2004 to 275 billion yuan in 2023, and its proportion in Shenzhen's GDP has increased from about 8% to about 8%. The cultural fair illuminates the cultural genes of this young city and also leverages the innovative vitality of "Pengcheng" to achieve a new take-off in the cultural industry.

From nothing to something, from something to strength. The CIIF is a window through which paintings can be viewed. It depicts the two-way rush and win-win cooperation between a city and culture. It also outlines the booming development of China's cultural industry.

Since then, the cultural industry has given two wings to Shenzhen, the "Pengcheng" that emerged due to reform and opening up, attracting attention from all over the world.

As China's only national, international and comprehensive cultural industry expo and trade fair, the CIIF has become a benchmark for the development of the national cultural industry and an important engine leading the development of China's cultural industry. It is also an important platform and expansion for promoting Chinese culture to go global. An important window for cultural opening to the outside world.

This CIIE is divided into 8 exhibition halls and has launched nearly 400 activities. Since its establishment, the CIIE venue has grown from 1 in the first session to 52 branch venues this year. Each branch venue uses the cultural expo event to show its own characteristics and advantages. and the diversified results of cultural industry development.

Exposition and trading are the themes of the CIIF. Over the past two decades, the CIIF has achieved a cumulative turnover of more than 2.8 trillion yuan, served 42,323 cultural enterprises and institutions, and attracted 65 million visitors; the cumulative trade and display of domestic and overseas cultural and creative industry exhibits exceeded 2 million, and the cultural industry investment and financing projects exceeded 70,000.

All previous exhibitions, exhibitions and transaction contents in each pavilion represent the development status and latest achievements of the industry. Each group has "unveiled" its high-quality cultural industry projects and products at the bottom of the box, and the CIIF has gradually become the first choice platform for the "first exhibition", "first launch" and "first show" of my country's cultural industry.

A lift-and-roll laser TV from Shandong that enables the screen to be freely rolled with one click, a 3D fantasy space of "Time and Space Huiying" from Anhui, and an AI virtual human were collectively unveiled to demonstrate the new trends and prospects of technological innovation empowering future cultural life.

In addition, Guangdong also brings 8 representative large-scale model industrial applications, including the world's largest Chinese universal AI model "Pengcheng Brain". Representative enterprises will appear in deeply interactive and immersive scenes to showcase Guangdong's technological innovation. Empower new trends and prospects for future cultural life.

Drive business with exhibitions and develop business with culture. At this CIIE, the participation of leading companies in the cultural industry has reached a new high. There are batches of "top-notch" digital cultural companies in the industry, batches of "new forces" in the cultural industry, as well as domestic cutting-edge cultural technology, cultural equipment manufacturing, Artificial intelligence companies participated in the exhibition.

Qin Haiqun, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Damo Dazhi Control Technology Co., Ltd., said: The company has participated in the International Cultural Expo for five consecutive years and has gained a lot every year. We can recommend more of our company's products to cultural and technological enterprises in all walks of life. . Push into different fields, expand our market, and be able to introduce more projects.

The cultural industry has always been one of Guangdong’s “specialties”. In recent years, Guangdong has continuously accelerated the development of new productive forces in the cultural field, strived to improve the modern cultural industry system and market system, and created a leading place for digital culture, a new highland for cultural creativity, and a demonstration site for cultural and tourism integration, and has achieved a series of new progress and new results.

The 20 years since the CIIF took root in Guangdong are also the 20 years since Guangdong has continued to develop its cultural industry. At present, Guangdong Province has 10,800 cultural and related industrial enterprises above designated size, accounting for 1/7 of the country. It has 29 national cultural industry demonstration bases and parks, ranking first in the country in number.

"Cultural technology," "cultural tourism," and "cultural finance" are flourishing on the platform of the CIIF. Starting from 2022, the CIIF will comprehensively strengthen its functions of attracting investment and investment and financing, and provide a "first exhibition", "first launch" and "first show" platform for the release of new products, new technologies, new business formats and new services at home and abroad.

In 2023, Guangdong's cultural and related industry enterprises above designated size will achieve operating income of 2.25 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.0%, accounting for more than 1/6 of the country. The total scale of the cultural industry has ranked first in the country for 20 consecutive years.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the 30th collective study session of the 19th Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee: “We must better promote Chinese culture to go global, use literature to convey the truth, use literature to speak out, and use culture to educate people, and explain and recommend more valuable cultural heritage to the world. Excellent culture with Chinese characteristics, embodying the Chinese spirit and containing Chinese wisdom.”

After its 20th session, the CIIF is no longer the story of Shenzhen as a city, but has become a splendid stage to showcase Chinese culture and civilization. Excellent Chinese culture is also being focused in Shenzhen and "amplified" to the world through the stage of the International Cultural Expo. Here again, I gained attention from the world.

This attraction can be seen from the increasing overseas popularity: the number of participating countries and regions in this CIIF has increased from 50 to 60, and the number of countries and regions visiting, exhibiting, and purchasing has reached 108; the international exhibition area has increased to 20,000 square meters. m, the number of overseas buyers increased from 20,000 to 30,000. The international "circle of friends" of CIIF is constantly expanding.

Today, the 20th CIIE opens. The CIIE and Chinese culture have once again come under the spotlight of the world, showing the beauty of Chinese civilization to the world.

After twenty years, the CIIF has become more than just a cultural industry expo. Behind it lies the Chinese culture with a long history of more than 5,000 years. It faces a new world where "new" trends are surging and cultural flowers are blooming. Through the platform of the CIIE, we see an ancient but new, long-lasting and lively, respectable and confident China, marching forward with its head held high and striding forward!

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