Weinan: Innovation, Integration Boost Leapfrog Development of Cultural Industry

　　Endowed with immense cultural resources, Weinan has rolled out a “Culture Plus” strategy aimed at integrating culture with innovation and injecting fresh momentum into its cultural industry development. The newly opened Mount Hua Cultural & Creative Gift House has become a new attraction for tourists. Products such as Mount Hua Hero Cup, postcards and stone-carved fridge magnets that present Mount Hua-related elements through artistic expression have well met the demands of tourists interested in the Mount Hua culture.

　　Mr. Ye from Fujian spoke highly of the products featuring hero figures in Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, suggesting the print scenarios on cups such as the Duel on Mount Hua and the Root of the Chinese Nation represent the essence of Weinan culture.

　　Dong Siyang, General Manager of Shaanxi Huajing Cultural & Creative Co., Ltd, said they have placed great importance on combining the natural landscapes and folk cultures of Mount Hua and the regional culture of Weinan with their product designs.

　　To accelerate the cultural industry development, Weinan has released a guideline at a cultural industry development working conference. It emphasizes industrial park construction, project implementation and establishment of enterprise groups, aiming to push forward innovation of enterprises and turn Weinan’s unique cultural resources into industrial advantages.

　　At Huaxing Stone Carving Plant in Gongli Town, Fuping County, dark jade tables would undergo a carving process before sold to southern China. According to general manager Du Minchao, the central leg of the table is made of local dark jade and carved with water while the dragon and phoenix patterns are inspired by the cultures of the Han and Tang dynasties.

　　In recent years, based on its rich historical and industrial resources, Gongli Town has strived to combine stone carving with history and culture and has been recognized as the Town of Stone Carving. The Huaxing plant is one of the around 200 stone carving factories in the town, which include over 70 above designated size.

　　Li Jinrong, the chief of Gongli Town, expects the planned stone carving culture industrial park in Fuping County to help improve the management of loosely regulated businesses so as to realize economies of scale.

　　Currently, Weinan has 107 cultural enterprises above designated size, which contributed 1.369 billion yuan in revenues in the first half of the year, up 21.7 percent year on year. In 2017, six cultural projects were brought to the city with a combined investment of 3.7 billion yuan. In the next step, the city will continue to foster the cultural industry and turn it into a new growth driver and a promising sector that is able to promote economic restructuring and upgrading. Efforts will also be made to strengthen top-level planning, investment attraction, cultural integration, talent cultivation and supervision so as to boost the leapfrog development of the cultural industry. (Text by Li Tianlong, Fuping Station; Edited by Li Yan)