Chinese Cultural Industry is Surging High

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, October 09, 2002

Chinese Cultural Industry is Surging High

China has already stepped over the "Era of Shortage Economy" and cultural consumption is coming into fashion, said Zhang Jianxin, Director of the Cultural Market Division of the Ministry of Culture, it has witnessed a quick increase.

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Wu Dan, a student of Tsinghua University grasping the time for reviewing his lessons, was only for getting a chance to enjoy the Japanese version opera "The Butterfly Lovers" performed by the Japanese Takara Tzuka Song and Dance Troupe in the Century Opera House.

For the couple Chi Jiangang, a professor of Beijing Normal University, the first thing every morning is to go over the information on art and literature carried in the middle line of the paper, devoting their attention every month to the selection of their loved playbills.

Today, tickets of some hundred-yuan or even 1000 yuan high for the returned performances by the world prince of "Tenor" or the "king of saxophone player" to China will soon run short of supply due to the dire need of them. In such key places for performance as the Poly Theatre and Tianqiao Theatre one will find people crowding there for reimbursed tickets even when the program has been going on for already half an hour.

China has already stepped over the "Era of Shortage Economy" and cultural consumption is coming into fashion, said Zhang Jianxin, Director of the Cultural Market Division of the Ministry of Culture, it has witnessed a quick increase. In 1998, the expenses of the townspeople in China on the service for cultural recreation and education had already surpassed that for clothing, rising to the second place. The 2001 Spring Book Fair in Beijing attracted some 100,000 readers with the sales value reaching 700 million-yuan in people's currency.

An investigation in Zhejiang Province reveals, 45 percent of the families in the province are ready to put in RMB 500 yuan to 10,000 yuan for the expense on cultural purposes in five years to come. Some 16 percent of the families are ready to spend RMB 1,000 to 25,000 on that purpose and 84.5 percent of the families holds "people's interest on the collection of artistic pieces, calligraphy and paintings and antique curios are increasing with every passing day.

According to the experts' forecast, the Chinese potential consuming ability on the cultural aspects will reach 550 billion-yuan in people's currency by the year of 2005.

Cultural consumption is no longer a mere means for the "improvement of life", but the necessity for self-enrichment. The "pottery art guild", "small theatre" and "hall for rock climbing", all these cultural places of new fashion are enjoying the favor of more and more people.

The market has offered encouragement to Chinese artists and brought to life many creative works in the original. The year of 2001 saw 2590 theatrical and artistic troupes in China attracted some 474 million audiences in the country. Of all the performances, 61 percent were conducted in the vast territory of the countryside. And in the meanwhile, people in the trade from alien lands had been trying their best to carve a share out from the Chinese market, the year of 2001 seeing more than 2000 performances conducted by foreign artistic troupes in Beijing alone.

In 1980s, the international cultural exchange activities conducted by China had never been preceded with a name for fear of losing their continuity, said Zhang Yu, manager of China Performing Arts Agency. But now, Beijing International Music Festival, Shanghai International Art Festival have become the renowned brand of artistic activities in the world.

The market has given a direct impetus to the flourishing of the cultural industry. The year of 2000 witnessed 224,000 units engaged in cultural activities in the country with their total assets coming up to RMB 44.2 billion-yuan, an increase of 40 percent as against the year before and realizing an annual profit of RMB 3.18 billion-yuan, a rise of 13.8 percent.

By People's Daily Online

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