Oracle bone inscriptions displayed at the new hall of the Yinxu Museum in Anyang, Henan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The cultural industry in China is increasingly becoming a pillar of the national economy. A great many cultural facilities, including libraries and museums, with state-of-the-art services and offering innovative experiences have been built, and authorities at various levels have worked hard to increase the cultural presence in people's lives.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the Chinese government, with President Xi Jinping at its core, has placed great importance on cultural reform and development.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism was established in 2018 to promote the integrated development of the cultural and tourism industries, and to boost the country's soft power, and influence of Chinese culture.

That same year, the National Radio and Television Administration and the China Media Group were set up to strengthen management and pool resources to benefit the public.

The cultural industry continues to expand in scale and its structure is undergoing constant optimization. The added value of the cultural industry to the national economy is increasing year by year, accounting for 4.46 percent of the country's GDP in 2022. And new sources, such as the digital cultural industry, are playing a greater role in driving growth, as the domestic and international influence of the cultural industry continues to rise.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, companies with annual revenue from principal business in the cultural and related industries of over 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) made 12.95 trillion yuan last year, an 8.2 percent increase compared to 2022.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has repeatedly emphasized the need to deepen the reform of the cultural system to stimulate innovation and creativity.

Reading spaces

With a substantial collection of more than 8 million books, the Beijing Library lures large crowds with highlighting experiences ranging from trying on Peking Opera costumes and watching shadow puppet shows, to interacting with the digital image of writer Lu Xun (1881-1936).

According to its operators, between its opening in late December and July 10, the library, which is located in the Tongzhou district in the east of the capital, has packed in more than 2 million visits. To enliven the reader experience, it has also hosted 1,300 events that have attracted more than 4 million visitors.

It is part of the capital's efforts to boost reading and satisfy the needs of readers.

Since the First National Conference on Reading was held in Beijing in 2022, authorities have issued support policies to improve infrastructure and foster an environment conducive to reading.

The city currently has more than 2,000 bookstores, which translates to an average of 0.9 bookstores per 10,000 people, higher than many other international cities like New York or Paris.

In Shanghai, the city's first 24-hour park library in Heping has had around 4,500 visitors on a daily basis since it opened in April.

In addition to literature, the Heping library has evolved into a new public cultural space thanks to its fashionable design that is accentuated by its park setting.

"Unlike bookstores or cafes, this is a public library and a nonprofit institution, so people are more relaxed here," said Deng Geng, who frequents the library. The 20-something has seen many people there, even after midnight.

Han Yao, who works at the library, believes its biggest spillover effect is attracting people who may not have spent time at a library before. Visitors might come to the park to enjoy themselves, and then end up getting a membership card, as well.

The two libraries are among an increasing number of facilities that cater to the rising public need for cultural experiences.

Public libraries have continued to innovate and develop, carving out their own path in promoting reading and creating a public cultural service system, experts said.

Currently, major indicators such as the total built area of public libraries, the number of facilities, and the size of collections, rank first in the world, while indicators such as electronic resources are close to advanced global levels, said Chen Ying, deputy director of the National Library of China.

In developed regions like Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, the level of development of public libraries not only compares favorably with the world's most advanced cities, but even surpasses them in some aspects, Chen added.

Wu Zhinan, a cultural and tourism public service expert and a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that China has made great strides in creating a modern public cultural service system since the 18th CPC National Congress, and added that the development of the public cultural infrastructure network has advanced rapidly, and the production of public cultural products has become increasingly diverse.

As a result, the satisfaction of urban and rural residents with public cultural services has significantly improved.

China has built more than 3,200 public libraries, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Palaces of relics

In addition to libraries, museums are also playing a prominent role in enriching the public cultural experience.

China has 6,800 registered museums, which attracted 1.29 billion visits last year, and hosted around 40,000 exhibitions and 380,000 public educational events, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

All public libraries, cultural centers, public art galleries, comprehensive cultural stations, and more than 90 percent of museums are open to the public for free.

High-tech solutions have been introduced to improve appreciation of cultural artifacts.

At the Yinxu Museum in Anyang, Henan province, which opened in February, visitors can observe magnified oracle bone carvings at close quarters and can manipulate high-precision 3D models of the bones on screen to examine the details of their strokes.

A digital poster outside the gallery adds to appreciation, by giving visitors access to detailed interpretations of oracle bone scripts, as well as allowing them to take part in a short quiz to put their knowledge to the test.

Small and medium-sized cultural spaces have also made their presence felt.

In Zhejiang province, local authorities have launched a cultural infrastructure project that involves an investment of 10 billion yuan.

The goal is to create a network of "life circles for culture" offering services like museums, stages and gyms within a 15-minute walk of all residents.

More than 11,000 circles now exist, and more are being set up in farther-flung areas, leading to the creation of a host of rural museums, urban bookstores, and cultural centers.

In the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, comprehensive culture centers — compounds that provide accessible cultural services — cover 99.6 percent of villages, effectively boosting public cultural service capacities at the grassroots level.

They have greatly broadened the reach of cultural services, making them more convenient for people to access and to experience, said Li Guoxin, a professor with the Department of Information Management at Peking University.

At the same time, cultural facilities around the country have introduced extended hours and staggered services, making it easier for the public to engage in cultural activities, Li said.

He proposed establishing mechanisms for direct access to cultural resources at the grassroots level nationwide, improving mechanisms for social forces including companies and individuals to participate in public cultural services, and promoting reforms that separate the ownership and usage rights of public cultural facilities, and classifying and advancing internal reforms of cultural institutions.

The next task is to focus on strengthening the systemic, integrated, and coordinated nature of these reforms, and optimize the supply of public cultural services and products, Li said.

He also called for the effective integration of technology and talent in cultural development and system reform.

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