Shenzhen plans to become regional center for culture

Leap in cultural services

"Taking the whole world in view, cities with sound economic structures and strong innovation capabilities are usually coupled with booming culture," Li said.

Citing Paris as an example, Li said the French capital is a leading city in terms of GDP worldwide, but is better known for its rich cultural and artistic atmosphere. And New York, a relatively newer city, has developed modern art and culture, such as abstract and pop art, making it a cultural center in a little over a century, he observed.

"Shenzhen only had a single piano, a theater and a drama group 40 years ago, and it was located far away from cultural centers in Central China," Li said, explaining why the city was called a "cultural desert" in the 1980s.

However, once the economy started to grow rapidly, the local government placed a greater priority on cultural development, he noted.

When the city decided to relocate its city government in the late 1990s, some landmark cultural buildings were planned to be built close to the new government building in the central area of the city to highlight the importance of culture.

They include the central book mall, a concert hall, a city library, a youth palace and a modern art museum, which are all functioning well, Li said.

In November 2008, Shenzhen was recognized as a "City of Design" by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, becoming the first city on the Chinese mainland and the sixth city in the world to receive the honor.

In October 2013, the city was named by UNESCO as a global role model for the promotion of reading, the highest recognition in this category.

In January 2016, the city issued a five-year plan for cultural innovation and development, in which the local government is required to finish 153 major projects by 2020. The latest statistics indicate that about 92 percent of the projects have been completed.

The city's cultural events calender was launched in May 2017. An increasing number of international events have been put on the list, including the Shenzhen Design Award for Young Talents in Cooperation with UNESCO Creative Cities Network in February, Shenzhen Belt and Road International Music Festival in March, Shenzhen Design Week and Shenzhen Global Design Award in April, China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair in May, Shenzhen Dance Month in July, Shenzhen (International) Science Film Week in September, Shenzhen Reading Month in November and the Shenzhen Creative December event.

The local government announced in late 2018 it is investing a total of 20 billion yuan to build a group of new cultural facilities in the next three years. They include a new opera house, a creative design museum, a new art museum and an academy of music.

"The existing facilities can hardly satisfy the needs of the local people. We hope the new facilities will attract more international projects to the city," Li said.